Kick-Ass and Hit Girl Rise
by skca54
Summary: An alternative look at Dave and Mindy as young kids, in an alternative universe - based on the original Kick-Ass movie universe.
1. New Friends

**Authors Note: **_This story came about purely by chance, during a discussion with another writer: 'adm-frb'. This will be my twelfth (published) story._

**_Synopsis:_**_ The story is loosely based on the original Kick-Ass movie and the story exists in an alternative universe. Damon has been released from prison and now has custody of Mindy. Dave's mother, Alice, is still alive and his father, James, is friends with Damon and shares his desire for revenge against Frank D'Amico. Mindy is a few weeks past her fifth birthday, while Dave is two and a half years older._

* * *

**_December 2006  
New York City  
Central Park_**

The two kids eyed each other cautiously and with more than a little suspicion.

I looked at Damon - he was smirking and I must have been too. They seemed to be checking each other out and a little concern was visible. Did they see each other as a threat? Alternatively, was it just because they were a boy and a girl with a two and a half year age gap!

Damon and I sat on the bench, just a few feet away from the two kids, as they stood on the grass facing each other. Central Park was cold, as was expected for this time of year, but it was dry and clear.

The girl was going through an especially complicated time, having been uprooted from everything that she had known and handed to somebody that she had only known for the past six months and only then for a few days of each month. I knew that this had been really hard on Damon, too. He was trying so hard to make things right for the daughter that he hadn't seen for five years. At least the escorted visits had helped them to get to know each other, before Damon was released.

As for my son? Well, being a seven and a half year-old boy that was being 'forced' - his word, not mine - to play with a 'baby girl' - again, his words, not mine - he wasn't particularly amused!

* * *

She's a baby.

Dad says that she isn't and that she's five – but that's a baby in my book. Not to mention the pink frilly dress and pigtails, with purple tights and purple shoes, all topped off with a purple 'My Little Pony' hair clip and pink coat!

I would rather be out with Marty, right now!

* * *

He may be seven, but I could take him – no problem!

One word comes to mind – 'dork'. Might just be the curly hair, but I'm not so sure! Learnt a new word the other night: 'dipshit', maybe that's what Dave is?

Daddy says that we're gonna be friends – we'll see...

* * *

Well, they haven't run away from each other screaming, nor have they punched each other's lights out.

That has to be a good start! James seems to think that this is all great fun, me – I'm just worried about what Mindy might think. I have a feeling that I might have overdone the girly thing – Mindy liked the dress, so I let her wear it, but maybe some dungarees would have been better and a little less pink – she does _love_ purple, though.

I'll get the hang of this shit eventually!

* * *

"Well – you gonna say something?" Mindy demanded.

"Hi!" I said. "I'm Dave, Dave Lizewski!"

Mindy sniggered. "I know that, dumbass!"

"Mindy – be nice!" Mindy's Daddy suggested.

"Okay!" Mindy said with a grimace, but then she smiled sweetly before continuing. "Hi Dave, I'm Mindy Macready!"

"Good to meet you!" I replied.

* * *

"I think that was a good start, don't you?" James asked as Dave and Mindy wandered around talking together.

"They're talking and Mindy hasn't slapped him – she did that to a boy down the store, day before yesterday – poor kid only asked her name!" I replied with a chuckle.

Three weeks, I'd been out. Three weeks that I'd spent with Mindy – my Mindy. I didn't want to let her out of my sight – it scared me every time she went into a different room at home. Mindy was all that I had left of Kathleen.

For a moment, I felt the anger rise up inside me, but forced it back down – now was not the time. This was a happy time for Mindy – retribution would come later.

* * *

**_May 2009_**

Mindy had settled in well and had fully accepted Damon as her Daddy.

I may not have agreed one hundred percent with Damon's parenting, but I would only offer ideas – nothing more. Mindy was Damon's to bring up as he saw fit and she was a happy and enchanting child, who was more of a tomboy than anything else! If it wasn't for her medium length, blonde hair that was often in pig tails, she could have passed for a boy. She often ran around in dungarees and loved the rough and tumble world of boys, much more than the soft, pink, doll laden world of normal girls. Indeed, her legs and arms were usually covered in so many bruises that it was a wonder that Child Services hadn't been round accusing Damon of abusing her. Mindy, as she approached seven and a half years-old was definitely _not_ your average little girl!

Marcus was still on the scene, but not too regularly – so as not to confuse the little girl. Dave and Mindy were now inseparable and great friends, although 'partners in crime' was probably a more accurate way of describing them and Mindy would always play the 'sweet, innocent little girl' card to the hilt! They always wanted to be together – every weekend they would have a sleepover at one house or the other. Alice loved Mindy and gave her a feminine balance to her life – Alice was also able to help Damon when it came to the more feminine side of Mindy, which was still there.

As of September, last year Alice was now home-schooling Dave and Mindy at our house. Alice had insisted, as this would provide some form of 'cover' for our other activities. As for these, 'other activities', Damon and I spent many days and nights planning our nocturnal activities. So far, neither Dave nor Mindy were fully aware of what we were doing. Yes, both kids were receiving physical training that could be seen by some as abnormal – for example: seven year-old Mindy was perfectly capable of flooring a grown man!

I had already started passing on my Marine skills to Dave, when he was about six. He was competent when it came to survival skills and how to use knives, although never in public. I started him shooting when he was seven and he was now very good, and often helped Mindy, who was now learning to shoot too.

* * *

"What are you two up to?" I asked, looking down at two _very_ guilty faces.

"Nothing, Daddy," Mindy tried, smiling sweetly.

"No dice, Mindy!" I replied without smiling. I had now grown immune to Mindy's attempts to sweet talk her way out of trouble. It had taken a while, quite a few months, actually – she was just too darn cute!

Mindy's face sank and I saw Dave's hopeful grin vanish.

"I'm waiting – who was the clever ass, _this time_?"

Mindy just glowered at me and she knew that I had her. From Dave's expression, I had a distinct feeling that it was Mindy's turn to be the clever ass, who had come up with the stupid idea – they seemed to take it in turns!

"Okay! Jeez – can't a girl have a little fun?" Mindy exclaimed holding her arms out – she was also quite the drama queen.

I looked down at Mindy. "Breaking windows?"

"I wasn't trying to break them," Mindy growled.

"What!" I replied a little astounded. "Did you think the bricks would stick?"

"Maybe..."

"Bed – both of you," I ordered. "Go straight to sleep and don't even _think_ about thinking about anything other than sleep!"

Both kids vanished up the stairs and I could hear Mindy and Dave arguing. Nothing new there, they would settle down in a few minutes. Those two somehow come up with some extreme ideas – last week it had been Jello grenades! I had received a call from Marcus that evening – a colleague had seen Mindy and Dave throwing things at an abandoned building and had decided to turn a blind eye. All the Cops thought that my daughter was cute and Mindy tended to play on it!


	2. Toughening Up

**_Saturday, 23rd May 2009_**

Mindy was a tough little thing, but there was a problem.

Whereas Mindy would not think twice about hitting Dave, if he annoyed her enough, or if she was just being particularly spiteful; the ten-year old Dave would not lay a finger on her – she was a sister to him and being a young gentleman, would not even consider retaliating towards a girl.

Now, I was getting fed up with this – Mindy was not learning an important part of life, at least the life that I had planned for her. Fights are rarely one sided and the people we were going to be fighting; they would most definitely fight back.

..._...

That day was another example of Mindy pushing Dave to his limit, and Dave would get very angry, but would not do anything to stop the seven and a half year-old Mindy from pounding him.

"Dave – slap her!" I suggested.

Dave stared at me in horror – I might as well have asked him to shoot Mindy in the head. Dave shook his head.

"She needs to learn, Dave – _slap her_ – now!"

Dave hesitated, but I think Mindy's smug look that said 'Dave would never hit me' must have pushed Dave over the edge, because he slapped her – hard!

The smug look slowly vanished from Mindy's face and she just stood there in absolute shock – this was the first time in her life that somebody had actually slapped her. It was almost a full minute before I saw her bottom lip start to quiver and then... That girl has a good set of lungs – she bawled the place down and ran over to me, but I held back.

"No, Mindy – you need to learn that when you attack somebody, they _will_ attack back. You hit Dave, he _will_ hit you back!"

"Daddy!"

It was heart wrenching. My daughter was hurt, but I had to ignore her – it was cruel, but it had to be done. Dave, himself, looked horror struck at what he had done and he was almost in tears himself.

"I'm sorry, Mindy – I..." Dave started.

"Dave – no apologies, she got what was coming to her," I explained and I hoped that Dave would understand.

Finally, after many minutes, I gave in and let Mindy cuddle into me and I hugged her till she calmed down.

..._...

Dave had complained to James about Mindy targeting him between the legs, but James had just laughed.

"Stop winging you pansy! You need to have some balls for her to kick 'em – hit back and she will stop!"

But Mindy was a fast learner and she soon equated kicking Dave in the bollocks, with getting punched in the face – so Dave was learning, too!

All this was part of toughening the pair up for what was to come.

* * *

**_Friday, 26th June 2009_**

"This sucks!"

"Tell me about it!" I groused.

We had been abandoned – plain and simple. It was after nine at night and it was dark, but not particularly cold – yet! We had a pack each that had the emergency essentials required to survive in a wilderness – which this wasn't quite, but to a ten year-old boy and a seven-year old girl, it might well have been.

Thirty minutes ago, our Dads had stopped the car, said goodbye and driven off – they said they'd be back in the morning – _if we survived_ and they had actually laughed, too! We had trudged into the wood and searched for somewhere dry to sleep for the night.

"I'm hungry – fancy a pizza?" Mindy asked.

"How are you going to call for a damned pizza without a..."

* * *

**_A short distance away_**

"The little bitch!"

"Is that a fucking phone?" James asked quietly.

I squinted through the night scope for a clearer look. Yes, Mindy was holding a cell phone that she had pulled from her left boot.

"Next time, they get strip searched!" I growled with a chuckle.

"She is resourceful, Damon – I have to give her that!"

* * *

"Mindy, you can't – it would defeat the whole point of this little escapade," I insisted.

"So, you'd rather starve?" Mindy demanded.

"Try these?" I said with a smile and passed over some candy bars.

"Where did you stash them?" Mindy demanded, grabbing them and stuffing them in her pockets.

"I've got extra pockets on the inside of this jacket!

* * *

**_A short distance away_**

"Dave 'aint no slouch when it comes to deception, either!" Damon commented with a chuckle.

"Thick as thieves!" I added.

We were both concealed under ponchos, not too far from where the kids were talking. We had absolutely no intention of letting them out of our sight – not just for their own safety, but because we didn't quite trust them to follow the rules!

It was fun, though, as the two kids thought themselves completely alone...

* * *

We enjoyed the chocolate and Dave had built a small fire.

His Dad had taught him a lot about survival in the wild and I was very keen to learn what I could. But I was not keen on being out here, even with Dave. It was scary – I wasn't scared of the dark, but it just felt scary out here. I could hear strange, unknown noises and it just felt creepy.

Dave seemed fine with it all, but I knew that he had been camping with his Dad before – and had been since he was my age. I just had to trust him, as he had the knowledge and I didn't. Don't get me wrong, I trusted Dave completely and I knew that he would do everything that he could, to protect me. I also knew from bitter experience that he could fight and would now fight back, if I attacked him. I had been shocked when Daddy had told Dave to slap me and initially I had felt hatred towards Dave, but once I saw how horrified he was, about hitting me – all the hatred had vanished in an instant.

..._...

Now, though, I had a problem.

"Dave... I need to pee!"

"Go piss up a tree," Dave suggested, as he poked the fire with a long stick.

"Err – newsflash, Dave. You've probably noticed that I'm not equipped for that!" I growled back.

"Good point! Go piss on a bush, then."

"That's disgusting!"

"Well, it's your choice, Mindy – piss yourself or piss on the bush," Dave said, sounding a little exasperated.

"Fine!"

* * *

Mindy vanished into the shadows and returned a short while later.

"That's better!" She said happily.

"Did you wash your hands?" I asked facetiously.

"Yeah the hot water was great!" Mindy replied with heavy sarcasm.

"Here, use one of these," I said and passed her a baby wipe.

"You came prepared didn't you?"

"Someone has to look after little Mindy," I said, smiling at Mindy.

"I am _not_ 'little', ass!"

"Suit yourself – I'm going to sleep," I said and dragged a blanket out of my pack and laydown under a large bush – well away from where Mindy had relived herself.

"Okay," Mindy agreed and pulled out her own blanket and cuddled into me for warmth.

* * *

Something woke me up – it was still dark.

I opened my eyes and looked around, without moving. Mindy was still fast asleep beside me, so it hadn't been her. I gently eased away from Mindy, leaving her to sleep and moved deeper into the shadows. I listened. I could hear rustling – was it the wind? No, there was no wind, tonight. It must be someone, or something moving through the woods.

I felt fear and a tingling sensation on my back as a chill ran up it. I pulled out my knife, from its sheath and after checking that Mindy was still asleep and safely hidden, I climbed a tree and kept a lookout all around, while keeping myself hidden from view.


	3. A New Home For Mindy

**_That same night_**

**_The woods_**

I left James on overwatch and headed towards the sleeping kids.

By the time I got there, I only found Mindy, fast asleep – where was Dave? I was just about to call James on the radio when something that felt like a pair of feet, hit me on the side of my head and I fell to the side. I sprang up to find myself facing a rather short, ten year-old.

"Damon?"

"Dave – that fucking hurt!" I replied and heard James laughing over the radio – asshole!

"Sorry, I thought you might be somebody bad," Dave admitted.

"Well done, kid – you out-foxed me! Go back to sleep – you did well and thanks for looking after Mindy."

"No problem!" Dave replied and lay back down beside the still sleeping Mindy.

* * *

"Oh, ha fucking ha!" I growled, once I got back to James who was grinning fit to burst.

"Sorry, Damon – I saw Dave wake and hide, he must have heard your clumsy feet!"

"Your kid is good, James and I saw that it wasn't easy to find Mindy, either – they picked a good spot."

I took a peak through the night scope and watched as Dave got comfortable and cuddled up with Mindy. As long as the two of them were together, then they would both be safe.

* * *

**_The following morning_**

**_The woods_**

"Fuck me!" Mindy announced, returning from taking a piss.

Over the past couple of years, Mindy had steadily broadened her vocabulary, but not necessarily for the better, unfortunately!

"Cold ass?" I quipped with a brief snigger.

"Very funny!"

It was early morning and chilly as the sun wasn't very high yet. I hadn't told Mindy about my scuffle with her father last night and I intended to keep it to myself. If Mindy knew that her Daddy had been only a short distance away, she would not have followed the rules. We had some walking to do, to get to the road where we would be picked up in a couple of hours.

"Come on, Mindy – we have some distance to cover."

"Alright Captain Bligh!" Mindy groaned and stuffed her blanket into her pack and I helped her strap the pack into place on her back.

* * *

"Hey, asshole, slow down – remember I've only got short legs!" Mindy moaned an hour later.

"I thought that you said you weren't little?"

"Little and short are two _completely_ different things, Dave," Mindy informed me.

I was a full eight inches taller than Mindy, who barely came up to my neck – so I did see Mindy as 'short'. Not her fault, but that was life! I continued to encourage her, as we headed east for the road, which we could see some way ahead of us.

..._...

When we reached the road Mindy collapsed and lay on her back, panting. We had run the last hundred yards or so – well Mindy had – I had jogged along behind!

James pulled up in his Land Rover SUV. Damon was hanging out of the window and smiling.

"Hi, kids! All safe?"

"Yes, Daddy!" Mindy said – all smiles now Daddy was here.

"Sleep well?" James asked and I saw the smirk on Damon's face.

"Perfect night's sleep!" I replied.

* * *

**_Three days later  
Tuesday_**

**_Damon and Mindy's house_**

It was time for Damon and Mindy to move out of Damon's dingy flat and into their new house.

Damon had spent the past few months getting the house ready for use. It was in Brooklyn and didn't look like much from the outside, but I was sure it was good inside. I was with Damon and Mindy – Mindy had refused to come without me!

I followed Damon and Mindy up the concrete steps to the solid-looking front door, which seemed quite normal from this side. An expected feature was a keypad recessed into the wall beside the door and covered by a small metal plate.

Damon punched in an eight-digit code and as Damon pressed the eighth digit, we both heard a subtle electronic whirring and some mechanical clicking. Damon smiled, then reached out and pushed the door, which opened and we moved into a dark hallway. Damon fumbled around and found a light switch – I didn't know what I had expected to see, but the hallway seemed almost normal, except that the door once closed, appeared to be fairly substantial and was most probably armoured, knowing Damon! The same electronic and mechanical sounds that we had heard before were repeated, as the door seemed to lock itself behind us.

"Cool!" Mindy declared and Damon laughed.

The floor was tiled with small square ceramic tiles in a pleasant grey, while the walls were painted in an off-white colour. In front of us was a set of stairs going up and after these, on the left was a door that again seemed more solid than usual and seemed to have a code lock, too!

At the end of the hallway was a door that led into a narrow, but very well equipped, kitchen – the units were white and the worktops were a light grey marble. The kitchen was 'L' shaped and bent to the right ahead of us. At the apex of the 'L' was a large bay window with a door that presumably led outside. We could not actually see anything, as the windows and door had external steel shutters, which were currently closed. Damon fiddled with the controls for the shutters and they opened silently letting in floods of bright sunlight.

The other leg of the 'L' was a breakfast room with a long wooden table that could comfortably seat six people. The floor was laid with large, light grey stone tiles. Twin, square arches led through into a large dining room, with a table that could comfortably seat six and that had a real wood floor and an open fireplace. At the other end of this room was a large square arch, with a pair of wooden doors that led into another very similar room that looked out onto the street. This room had a comfortable looking leather couch and a large screen TV, as well as another open fireplace.

Mindy seemed totally speechless – which was very rare! Damon had noticed too and couldn't stop grinning at Mindy as she turned around and tried to take everything in all at once. Personally, I thought that Mindy might explode with the excitement!

* * *

Two doors led out, one from each room into the hallway where we had come in. This floor of the house had seemed remarkably normal! What had I expected?

We headed upstairs and we found a corridor that led to a window that would overlook the alley beside the property. A door towards the back of the house led into the master bedroom suite, which was obviously for Damon. There was also an en-suite bathroom with both a bath and a shower. Across the corridor was a small hallway that led to a bathroom and two further bedrooms, both with a single bed. One bedroom was painted pink, with purple trim and purple curtains. That room was obviously intended for Mindy and seeing it set her off yelling happily and she just stood there for quite a while, taking it all in. Finally, Mindy turned around and almost knocked Damon over as she hugged him tightly.

"It's lovely, Daddy!" Mindy grinned.

"It really is cool, Damon!" I agreed.

..._...

We headed back downstairs and Mindy stared at the locked door.

"What's down there?" She asked, looking at Damon.

"Never you mind, young lady," Damon said seriously and Mindy dropped it.

* * *

Next, Damon threw us into his battered Jeep and we headed across Brooklyn to near the Navy Yard.

"What are we doing _here_?" Mindy demanded of her father.

"Something special and very important," was the cryptic response as we climbed out of the car.

In front of us was a red-bricked building that just looked 'well-worn', to put it politely! Damon took us into the back door and we climbed to the second floor. Here we found a heavy door and another code lock.

"Now, listen – watch as I punch in the code. I want both of you to memorise it and you must both promise to never write it down or tell anybody!" Damon said.

"I promise, Damon."

"I promise, Daddy."

We both watched as Damon slowly punched in the numbers: eight – four – six – two – one – three – one – nine. As the 'nine' was punched, the door clicked open and Damon pulled it towards us and pushed us both inside.

"Dad!" I called out.

* * *

"Hi, sport!" I said to my son.

"What the hell is this place?" The ever-curious Mindy, demanded.

Damon pulled the door closed behind him before speaking.

"Welcome to Safehouse A, kids!" Damon announced with a flourish.

"This I where we come if things go to crap!" I explained further. "This place is intended to keep us all safe in an emergency. Nobody is ever to know about this place – ever – period!"

Both Dave and Mindy nodded their acceptance.

* * *

The ceilings were very high. Immediately in front of us was a small kitchen with a table and to our right a pair of couches at right angles to each other, plus a large TV. Behind the couches was a table that had a pair of computers setup on it. Beyond the couches was...

"Cool!" I exclaimed. "A training mat!"

"Dave can start throwing you about, now!" James quipped.

"He can damn well try!" I retorted.

I looked into another room and found a bathroom that was equipped with a shower. Another door led to two small bedrooms – one of which held a bunk bed. Bunk beds were cool! The last room was –locked!

"Punch in the code, Mindy," Damon suggested.

I did and once the door had clicked open my eyes almost popped out of my fucking head. I mean, arrayed around me was pure awesomeness! I had never seen so many guns in one place and knives – wow. I honestly had no idea what some of the weapons were, but they still looked so fucking cool! Dave would know what they all were – he lived and breathed the 'Guns and Ammo' magazine.

* * *

"I think Mindy's about to explode!" I commented.

Mindy was hopping from one foot to the other. She was either very excited, or about to piss herself – possibly both!

Damon laughed at Mindy, who finally stopped and blushed.

"You like it baby doll?"

"Hell yeah!"


	4. Training and Shooting

**_The following week_**

**_Safehouse A_**

"Time for you two to start hitting each other," Damon announced.

"Cool!" Mindy said with a grin.

"Mindy – what happens when you hit me?" Dave cautioned.

"I start crying, after you hit me back!" Mindy glared back in response.

"Well, Mindy – you're just gonna have to learn to hit and avoid the return punches!" Damon commented.

Mindy did look a little unsure of herself, but she knew the theory and could move fast and with considerable agility when she needed to. Both kids had learnt martial arts skills, but up until now, they had been forbidden from using those skills on each other. Mindy, for the most part, had obeyed. Now though, they were moving to the next level.

* * *

"Fucking ouch!" Mindy exclaimed as she lay on her back and examined the blood on her fingers.

The blood had come from her nose after I had just kicked her. The look Mindy gave me was anything but friendly, but I knew that her bark was worse than her bite! I watched as Mindy jumped up and ran at me, before jumping and spinning. As she went past, she punched me in the left shoulder and I was pushed to the side. I tried to catch her as she went past but failed.

"Ha!" Mindy announced happily, when she landed.

* * *

"You know Damon, she hits pretty good – that could be her name: 'Hitter'?" I suggested.

"Novel, but doesn't sound quite right," Damon replied.

"Yeah – I agree. Dave kicks well; maybe we can work on that for a name."

We watched as Mindy managed to kick Dave to the floor before pouncing on him.

"Well, he does manage to get his ass kicked; maybe we could call him Ass-Kick!" Damon suggested with his appalling laugh.

"That doesn't even make sense, Damon!"

"Okay, we'll keep thinking about names for 'em," Damon conceded.

* * *

**_That afternoon_**

"Now Mindy, concentrate – this is a SIG SAUER P232 pistol. It is chambered in .380ACP and holds seven rounds," Dave lectured.

This was cool – I was being taught about guns – I liked guns. That pistol looked cool and I thought about how it would look with purple grips, now that would make it look awesome.

"Okay – you know how to pick up a weapon and check that it is safe – go ahead."

I picked up the pistol, keeping the muzzle pointed at the floor and away from Dave. I depressed the magazine release catch, removed the magazine from the pistol, and placed the magazine on the table. I then gripped the pistol with my right hand, keeping my finger away from the trigger and pulled back the slide with my left hand and checked that the chamber was clear. I let go of the slide and after ensuring that I was aiming at the floor, I pulled the trigger, which de-cocked (I liked that word) the weapon, and placed it down on the table beside the magazine.

"Perfect, Mindy!" Dave exclaimed and I felt myself beaming with pride.

..._...

Dave picked up the pistol and pulled back the slide, before releasing it.

"Now we take the pistol down. Turn this lever, here, to a vertical position and pull back the slide as far as it will go and hold, then lift the rear of the slide upwards, like this." Dave demonstrated the actions. "Slowly, guide the slide forward until it comes free of the frame. Be careful – there is a powerful spring in there. Once the slide is off, remove the recoil spring from the barrel. Simple – you could go further but that is not necessary for cleaning purposes."

"Now we put it back together again. Ensure that the takedown lever is in the vertical position and slide the recoil spring back into place. Next, guide the slide onto the frame and pull it back as far as it will go. Then press the rear of the slide downwards onto the frame and release it. Finally rotate the takedown lever back to its horizontal position," Dave finished.

"Got all that?"

* * *

"I think so!"

"Okay – do it yourself," I said and watched Mindy have a go.

"Very good, Dave – that was perfect," Dad commented, from behind me.

"Thanks Dad," I replied.

We both watched Mindy struggle with the pistol – it was not easy with her small hands. Nevertheless, she succeeded. Mindy generally succeeded at everything she put her mind to, which sometimes annoyed me.

"That was perfect Mindy," Dad said, as he inspected the pistol for any mistakes.

Mindy smiled gleefully.

* * *

**_That evening_**

James had a friend who ran a gun shop and he had allowed us to use his range, after hours.

The four of us had gone down to the shop that evening and we were going to give Mindy her first shooting lesson.

"Okay, baby doll, put your ear defenders on and watch young Dave," I said.

Once we all had our ear defenders on, Dave picked up the SIG SAUER P232 pistol, inserted a magazine that contained five rounds and pulled back the slide. He then aimed the pistol with both hands and squeezed the trigger five times until the slide locked back on the empty magazine.

"Now Mindy – can you do that?" I asked.

"No sweat!" Mindy replied, looking excited.

Dave stood behind her and kept an eye on her actions. She checked the pistol, as she picked it up and ensured that it was clear before picking up another magazine that was loaded with five rounds. Mindy inserted the magazine and pulled back the slide, chambering the first round.

Then she hesitated, before adjusting her grip and aiming down the range.

* * *

I was nervous.

This was the first time that I had held a loaded firearm and I was fully aware of the dangers of the weapon that I now held in my hands. I moved my trigger finger into the trigger guard and found the trigger. I took a deep breath and held it, squeezing the trigger and just as I thought that nothing was going to happen – _bang_! The pistol jumped in my hand and I felt the recoil in my arms. The feeling was strange, but I enjoyed it. I repeated the firing four more times, before placing the pistol down and turning to see three smiling faces.

"You enjoy that?" Dave asked.

"Hell yeah!" I replied and couldn't stop myself from grinning.

"Damn! She grins any bigger she'll hurt herself!" James laughed.

* * *

**_That night_**

**_The House_**

Dad was working, tonight, so I was staying with Damon and Mindy.

I was on my way back from the bathroom, when I peered into Mindy's room. She was lying in bed and gazing at the target from her shooting.

"I'm surprised you kept that," I said.

Mindy glared at me angrily.

"It's my first target and it means a lot to me," Mindy said in her usual stubborn way.

"Mindy – you fired ten rounds at that target and there's only one hole in it!" I advised her, ignoring the fact that the one hole was almost off the target, too.

"And!" Mindy replied indignantly and I knew this argument was over before it had even started.

"Okay – I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," I said and turned to leave.

"Dave!" Mindy suddenly called out.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for being such a good teacher and friend."

"Thanks for being my friend, too, Mindy."

* * *

**_That weekend_**

**_Safehouse A_**

"I know – we could call her 'Hit Bitch'!" Damon suggested.

"No, Damon. She's still a little girl and will be for quite a few more years, so that name just wouldn't be suitable."

"Never mind! I'm almost done with the costumes – the first draft anyway."

"Looking forward to that – I think!" I admitted dubiously.

The other advantage with the kids being homeschooled was that there was nobody to comment on their bruises! The sparring had been getting violent and both Dave and Mindy were covered in bruises all over their bodies. Not to mention that Mindy was currently limping after Dave had managed by accident to kick her between the legs and she had one hell of a bruise on the inside of her left thigh. Dave had been very apologetic, but Mindy had waved it off as an accident despite her tears of pain.

Neither kid flinched away from attacking the other one, which was amusing to watch as they tried to pound each other into the ground. Every now and then Damon and I would spar, which the kids really enjoyed, as we both got quite violent. Yes, I was older than Damon was, but I could hold my own. We tried to keep our sparring slow, when the kids were watching, so that they could follow the moves and learn as we sparred.

In general you only had to show Mindy and Dave something once for them to be able to emulate it. Fine-tuning may take a bit longer, but they both learnt fast. Which was good as Damon and I were accelerating their training. We had five months before Mindy would be eight years old. That was when Mindy would become a vigilante, along with Dave.

At that time, both Mindy and Dave would have to earn their costumes and vigilante identities. Right now, there was some fun in the training, but that would pass – this whole affair was deadly serious, with only death at the end. Only the training that Dave and Mindy were receiving now would mean who was to die at the end of all this.


	5. To Kill Or Not To Kill

**_One week later  
Saturday_**

**_Coney Island_**

Mindy flew through the air and came crashing down into the cooling water.

She came up spluttering, but with an enormous smile on her face. Damon was making a concerted effort to see how far he could throw the girl and I had to admit that he was getting quite a good distance so far! The weather was hot and we were spending the afternoon at Coney Island beach. It was _great_ fun – both Mindy and I loved swimming and Mindy was not easy to catch in the water. The water also gave us the opportunity to practice some of the more complex martial arts movements, which were not easy to accomplish on the mat.

"Dave, bet you can't catch me!" Mindy called and then ran out of the water and down the beach, laughing her head off.

Mindy may have been fast in water, but on land I was king and I easily brought her down when I caught up with her. We chased each other around the beach for quite a while, until we were covered in sand and were very hot. We then splashed our way into the sea, to cool off, get rid of the sand that clung to our bodies and have another swim.

..._...

There was one interesting incident, though.

Mindy had gone to get her and me some ice cream. I let her go on her own – she was getting a little touchy about her independence _and_ being treated, I quote 'like a fucking little girl'!

On her way to the shop, I saw a man watching her who then started moving towards her. I was not worried – Mindy could look after herself; she most definitely was _not_ the average seven-year-old!

I watched as the man started to engage Mindy in conversation. Mindy was answering the man's questions, but I could tell by her body language that she was getting annoyed with the man. Mindy turned and started to walk away, when the man reached out to seize her wrist, but Mindy was having none of it.

She used the man's grip as a fulcrum and span around his arm driving both of her feet into his groin. The man instantly let go of Mindy and seized hold of something else!

"Fucking creepy bastard!" Mindy yelled at the man and went off to get ice cream.

* * *

**_Later that afternoon_**

**_The House_**

Mindy was moaning – as usual.

She had showered twice, but was still complaining about sand in strange places! It had been a good day, but very tiring. After dinner that evening, we had sat down and watched a movie – in this case: 'Taken', with Liam Neeson. By the end of it, I was reasonably certain that neither Mindy nor I, were old enough to watch it, but it was still a lot of fun. Mindy enjoyed the movie, too, but fell asleep on the couch almost the moment the credits started.

She was completely worn out.

* * *

Damon was worrying me with his plans for all our costumes.

I wanted the costumes to be more 'armoured suits' than 'costumes', but Damon seemed to be getting a little carried away with his designs – not to mention that there was probably some _major_ copyright infringement!

We had cash, so the budget for the suits was large – but, as I constantly reminded Damon, the budget was _not_ in the billions of dollars. Damon and I could have suits that would last a while, with odd repairs as necessary and this meant that the suits needed to be modular in design. However, the kids were growing and would require new suits at least once every year. This required the suits to be cheaper than ours and flexible to allow for growth. Another issue was the weight of the suits. Damon and I could handle a heavy suit, but little Mindy – no chance!

Mindy had a very slim figure and was generally straight up and down, with no hips to hang anything on. She was doing her best to build up muscle, but there was only so far that a seven year-old girl could go. She had been a little annoyed about her pistol performance a week ago and had set to work with small weights to boost her arm strength so that she could hold the pistol easier and cope with the recoil.

Initial ideas had Damon, Dave and me sharing a similar design of suit. The suits would have differing colour schemes. Mindy would get a variation that was more feminine and of course, purple!

First though, Dave would need to prove that he had what it took be a vigilante. More precisely, we had to be sure that he could kill. Damon and I had discussed this and had decided to let Dave make a first attempt at gaining his suit and his vigilante identity. If he gained it, then it would give little Mindy something to work towards.

* * *

**_Two weeks later  
Saturday_**

I was alone.

Dad had set me up and then left me.

I was in a small apartment some distance to the east of Brooklyn, in a place called Gerritsen Beach. The apartment overlooked some water and a place that looked to be a landfill site. I had been told to await a phone call and stay hidden. I had been here for three hours and I was bored. Oh, one last thing! In front of me, aimed out of the window to a specific patch of landfill, was an Armalite AR-50 bolt-action sniper rifle. I was also wearing thin rubber gloves and I had been told, in no uncertain terms, not to touch nothing, at all.

..._...

Finally, the cell beside me rang and I answered it, putting it on speaker as instructed.

"Your target is ready. Take your time and focus," Dad said encouragingly.

"Give me a minute," I replied and felt nervous as hell. I could _not_ let Dad down.

I lay down behind the enormous weapon and looked through the scope mounted on the top of the sniper rifle. It was slowly getting dark outside, but there was still enough light to see the target. I focussed and an image appeared. I saw a man; he was kneeling on the ground. He had a hood over his head. The cross hairs were almost exactly centred on the man's head.

..._...

All I had to do was squeeze the trigger and the man would die. My hand was shaking; I could barely control it as I placed it on the grip. I kept my finger well away from the trigger for now. After checking the safety, I pulled back the bolt and inserted a round. I pushed the bolt closed and started to feel even more nervous.

"Anytime!" Dad called.

"I – I'm ready!" I replied.

I eased off the safety and moved my finger onto the trigger.

All I had to do was squeeze the trigger.

* * *

**_Five hundred yards to the east_**

I looked in the direction of the apartment where my son was located.

This was something big for him. I honestly did not know if he would be able to take the shot, or not. Either way, he was still my son and I would not complain at the outcome.

Minutes passed. The target was starting to shake violently. Then I heard my son's voice in my ear.

"I can't... I cannot do it..."

* * *

The ride back home was excruciating.

I had frozen.

I knew Dad was disappointed, despite his not showing it. He just put it down to first-time nerves. I dreaded facing Mindy too!


	6. Saving Mindy

**_Saturday night_**

**_The House_**

I was feeling very depressed and at that moment the last person that I wanted to see was Mindy.

Dad was downstairs talking to Damon and I was in my room, sulking. Mindy, though, looked unhappy – which was a surprise. I was expecting Mindy to gloat and take the piss out of me, as she often did when I screwed something up!

"Dave, I'm sorry it didn't go according to plan," Mindy said morosely.

"What have _you_ to be unhappy about?" I asked.

"If _you_ couldn't do it, then what chance in hell do _I_ have?"

"Oh!" Was all that I could say in reply.

"What did your Dad say?"

"Nothing much, just said that I'd get it the next time."

"You will – I know you will," Mindy said with one of her sweet smiles.

"Thanks, Mindy."

Mindy always had faith in my abilities.

* * *

**_Four weeks later  
Friday night_**

This time our Dad's weren't taking any chances!

We were all but strip-searched before we went out; so _no_ cell phone and _no_ additional candy. Never mind, we would manage. Mindy, though, moaned the whole damn way in the car! We had nothing but what we were wearing, which was not exactly much.

A bonus was that it would not be dark for another hour or so. Mindy and I therefore got ourselves sorted out and found a good place to spend the night. I then let Mindy start a fire and we settled down to talk, as it got dark.

After a couple of hours of telling jokes – Mindy knew some _really_ dirty ones – we fell asleep.

* * *

Mindy screamed.

I awoke with a start and looked over to see Mindy being dragged off by a large man. Unlike the last time, the man was not Damon, nor was it my Dad!

"Mindy!"

"Dave – help me!" Mindy screamed, as she was dragged further into the wood.

I had to think quickly.

Dad had left me a small pack that he said should only be used in an emergency – this _was_ an emergency. I grabbed the pack and ran after the man and Mindy. I could not see much in the darkness, but I could hear Mindy's screams. I stopped and unzipped the pack and found several items, one of which I recognised as a Walther P22 pistol. I grabbed it, and after a brief check, found it to have a full magazine. I reinserted the magazine and chambered a round.

Once I had swung the pack onto my back, I continued through the darkened woods and came across a small clearing. Mindy was lying on the ground and the man was aiming a pistol at her head.

"Shut up, bitch or I will fucking shoot ya!" The man snarled.

Mindy was no longer screaming, but she _was_ crying. It was very rare for Mindy to cry nowadays, unless she hurt herself. She was also well aware that tears got her nowhere, with any of us – not since that day that I slapped her.

I had to do something. I had to help Mindy. But what could I do? I looked down at the pistol that I was holding with both hands. Could I do it? Could I do it to save Mindy's life?

I moved forwards and got closer to the clearing. The man was busy securing Mindy's hands behind her back. I raised the pistol and aimed it at the man's chest.

"Dave – save me – please!" Mindy screamed, when she saw me.

The man span around and fumbled for his pistol.

I took a deep breath, thumbed off the safety and squeezed the trigger five times. The man fell backwards, blood spilling from the holes in his chest. I then ran forward and put three more rounds into the man's face.

He was well and truly, dead!

Mindy looked _so_ happy to see me and completely ignored the freshly killed man beside her. I pulled the pack off my back, dived into it, and pulled out a knife. I then cut Mindy's bindings and set her free.

Mindy grabbed me around the waist and hugged me tightly.

"Thanks Dave, I love you!"

"I love you, too, Mindy!"

After several minutes Mindy let go of me and we started walking back to our little campsite.

"Dave, please don't tell Daddy – but – I peed myself," Mindy said apologetically.

"No problem – our secret."

* * *

Eighty yards away, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I gently laid down the sniper rifle that was fitted with a night scope and smiled. Damon and I had watched every movement that the man had made. If he made a single wrong move, one of us would have dropped him. At least one of us _always_ had a line of sight on the man's head. The kids were never in any mortal danger. Danger, yes, but not mortal danger – there was a difference.

Ten minutes later Damon laid down beside me with his own rifle.

"Damn good, James – your boy was perfect!"

"It was a nice tight grouping on the man's chest – perfect marksmanship!" I replied.

Neither of us gave a shit about the dead man that we had persuaded to kidnap Mindy. Not that it had taken much persuasion – Mindy was, apparently and more than a little disturbingly, _just his type_!

We would call in the dead body, _after_ the kids were safely back home in the morning and _after_ the pistol had been safely disposed of.

Damon took the first watch, while I fell asleep where I lay.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Saturday_**

Damon had picked us up soon after dawn.

I had helped Mindy get changed into dry clothes before she had gone back to sleep. She had insisted on cuddling into me though for the rest of the night though.

Damon asked how things had been.

"Nothing major," I replied sarcastically. "Mindy got kidnapped and I shot a guy!"

"Oh right!" Damon said with a smirk.

Mindy looked at me, a little confused. I smelt a setup!

"Where's Dad?" I asked.

"Busy – we're gonna go get some breakfast," Damon replied.

Mindy scowled.

I sensed that she could tell that something was amiss, too.

* * *

**_Safehouse A_**

After breakfast we did not go home – we went to the safehouse.

There, I found Dad and he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Well done Dave!" Dad said. "You did brilliantly!"

"It was a setup?" I asked, although I thought that I knew the answer.

"Kind of, yes..." Dad replied.

"You've made your first kill, boy," Damon said. "Don't feel bad – that man deserved every goddamn round!"

I smiled at the compliments – unware of exactly what was happening. Dad then moved me over to the large table, on which was a white sheet. Something was underneath the sheet and that something was green and yellow.


	7. Kick-Ass

**_Saturday_**

**_Safehouse A_**

Dad pulled back the sheet.

"Fuck me!" Mindy announced.

I could not say a word. I knew exactly what it was and whom the suit was to be for; it was for me – it was my new vigilante suit!

"Damn that kicks ass!" Mindy said, running her eyes over every inch of the suit.

"Funny you should say that Mindy," Damon said, looking at Dad with a smirk.

* * *

Dave emerged from the bedroom in his new vigilante suit.

Wow! It was even more awesome now Dave was wearing it.

According to Daddy, he had a lightweight form fitting carbon-fibre composite chest plate that had Type IIA ballistic armour for deflecting nine-millimetre and .357-calibre pistol rounds. The thighs and lower legs had lightweight Type I ballistic armour panels, which met at padded knee joints and for his feet, he wore lightweight boots with a reinforced sole.

The upper and lower arms were similarly protected with lightweight carbon-fibre armour panels and padded joints for the elbows. The shoulders had similar armour protection that came down to the biceps and protected the shoulder joint.

There was a conformal back plate of a similar standard to the chest plate. The hands and wrists were protected with flexible, synthetic armour gauntlets that had lightweight carbon-fibre armour panels to the back of the hands and the palms were capable of resisting knife blades. His suit was finished off with a black protective mask that covered all but his mouth and lower jaw. The mask had thin carbon-fibre protection to the top, back and sides.

The majority of the armour was a pale green with a pale yellow trim. The armour was worn over a padded under suit, which provided another bullet-resistant layer and was predominantly green in colour. The boots were a light brown colour.

Overall Dave looked fucking awesome!

Mind you, when in the suit he was not Dave – he was _Kick-Ass_!

* * *

I felt kind of strange wearing this new armour.

It wasn't exactly light either, which I had pointed out to Dad. He said that I would get used to it over time. For weapons, I had a special attachment on my back that was attached to the armour. I had two carbon-fibre, reinforced aluminium batons that were fourteen inches in length. The grips were leather bound with loops for my wrists.

For now, I wasn't going to be carrying any firearms, but there were attachments on my armour for pistol holsters and magazine holders.

* * *

I was a bit surprised with the result.

Dave, or rather Kick-Ass, looked very good in his kit. I had surreptitiously asked Dave questions, every time that we had watched any superhero type movies. I had identified that Dave hated capes and preferred something form fitting with armour.

This had helped Damon to come up with some designs. The suit was flexible in design. This would allow different components to be upgraded, as Dave grew.

The next problem was Mindy.

She tried not to show it, but I could tell that the little girl was jealous of Dave. There was no reason for her to be jealous – her turn would come in a couple of months.

* * *

Was I jealous of Dave?

I didn't want to be, but I knew that I was. It was stupid, really. I was much younger than Dave and to be honest, I was scared. Being seized by that bastard _had_ scared me, enough to make me piss myself! That sucked big time, but Dave kept his promise and never told Daddy. I was ashamed of that brief weakness and Daddy hated weakness.

I would be eight in a few months and then it would be my turn. What costume would I get? What would my name be? I hoped the costume would have plenty of purple – I liked purple.

* * *

**_Four weeks later_**

There was one good things about Dave and his new suit.

I could pound on him, hard! Daddy gave me a long pole, called a Jō-staff. He had suggested that I learn to fight with it, and use it to pound on Dave too, as his armour would protect him.

I liked the Jō-staff; it felt good in my hands and I enjoyed weaving it and fending off Dave's batons. It was very tiring, but I was getting stronger in my arms and that made a big difference. Dave had quipped that I would have arms like Arnold Schwarzeneggar in no time. I had punched him as hard as I could, so that he knew exactly what I thought of his comment!

* * *

**_Monday_**

Mindy was concentrating a lot on her training.

There was a little over a month to go, until she was eight years-old. I thought that she might have been pushing herself a little too much, but James assured me that she was fine. Mindy usually crashed soon after dinner, each evening. She was completely worn out most days, what with the school lessons and then the martial arts training.

I had to admit that it was only now that I was completely comfortable with the life that James and Damon had planned for the kids. I loved Mindy; she was a wonderful, engaging, little girl. She was also very intelligent and it was getting difficult to find lessons that taxed her brain. She was already doing work that was months beyond that which children her own age would have been doing. Admittedly, this made it easier to teach her and Dave together. In some things, Dave was behind other children of his age group, so it brought them closer when it came to teaching.

I was amazed how two kids, so different in character, could become firm friends. Although now they were much more than just friends; they were like brother and sister.

"Mindy! Sit down – you have a task to complete, so I suggest you complete it!"

I had always wanted a daughter, but nature had gone against me and Dave had remained an only child. Mindy was now my 'daughter' and I treated her as such. Damon needed all the help that he could get with that girl – she was a handful!

"Mindy - sit!"

Marcus had done all he could to bring up Mindy, for the first few years of her life and had done a brilliant job. I was sorry that Marcus had been sidelined, since Mindy had gone back to Damon, but that was how Damon had wanted it.

"Mindy – don't you dare throw that!"

As usual, Mindy would try to look innocent, but I had learnt to see through these shields and was now immune to her 'little girl' attempts at innocence. That girl was anything, but innocent! Now, as for Dave...

"I saw that, young man!"

Teaching those two was almost worse than teaching a full class of 'normal' kids!

* * *

**_The following afternoon  
Tuesday_**

There was a knock on the door.

Mindy ran to answer it, as usual.

"Marcus!" Mindy yelled.

Oh, shit!

"How did you find us?" I asked.

"One of us is still a cop, remember?" Marcus said.

"You'd better come in, then," I growled.

"She's looking really good, Damon – man she's grown!"

I had to smile – I couldn't stay mad with the guy, considering...

"She's growing up fast, Marcus! She has a lot of her mother in her..." I faltered for a second.

"I know. Damon – what are up to?" Marcus asked.

"What do ya mean?"

"I mean – we have had a couple of strange deaths and at least one witness saw a short, blonde haired girl near the scene," Marcus explained and looked directly at the short, blonde haired girl, on the other side of the room.

"I won't lie to you Marcus; so please don't ask me question that I can't answer."

"Don't cross the line, Marcus – please, for Mindy's sake.

* * *

I didn't think that Damon enjoyed my visit, but it was wonderful to see Mindy.

Damon's behaviour was difficult to understand. Before, he had been fine; but ever since he had been released, there was something not right about him. There was a darkness to his eyes, which scared me.

I was genuinely worried about Mindy, but I knew that Damon would do nothing to hurt the girl.

Nevertheless, I was still worried!


	8. Transformation

**_Five weeks later  
Thursday_**

"Happy birthday, Mindy!"

"Thanks, Mr L!" Mindy said, giving Dad a hug.

"Remind me how old you are… Seven?" Dad teased.

"I'm eight, dammit!" Mindy exclaimed with a laugh.

"I honestly can't believe she's got to eight already!" Damon said, smiling with pride.

"Dave! Come and see what Daddy got me!" Mindy said, bubbling with excitement.

* * *

**_That weekend_**

The time had come.

Mindy was eight. It was now time for her to gain her own vigilante identity and costume. I could see concern in Damon as the weekend had approached. Was he having second thoughts about this? This was one hell of a step to take; a ten-year-old boy was one thing, but an eight-year-old girl?

"You certain about this, Damon?" I asked for the tenth time.

"Yes, James – I am certain. This is how it is going to be."

This would be different; Mindy knew that we would be testing her, so a con probably would not work. In addition, this time, Dave would assist in guiding Mindy through her first kill.

Mindy had trained and trained, over the past weeks with the help of Dave.

* * *

I was scared.

This time, though, I was _not_ going to piss myself! Could I do it? Would I step up to join Kick-Ass? Daddy said I had special talents inside of me. I was scared that I would let Daddy down. I was scared that I would let Dave down.

What did they have planned for me?

* * *

**_Saturday Night_**

I was alone.

I knew that Dave was close, dressed as Kick-Ass; but I had no idea where he was. No matter, I would complete this without his help – I had to.

It was dark and it was starting to rain. I was getting cold and now I was getting wet into the bargain! Daddy had told me to walk towards the moon and nowhere else. Above me, the clouds were intermittently blocking out the moon, but I could see my course. I continued walking, keeping my head down against the rain. In my jacket pocket, I had a .32-calibre Beretta 3032 Tomcat pistol, a spare magazine and a small flick knife.

The wind was rising and rustling through the branches. I kept hearing noises that might have been footsteps and seeing shadows that might have been the enemy.

I was starting to be a little freaked out!

* * *

I was worried about Mindy.

Dad had given me some night glasses. My job was to follow my best friend from a distance. She knew that I was here, but not exactly where. I was warm and cosy in my Kick-Ass suit, which was good on a night like this. This was also the first time that I was armed. Dad had given me a .38-calibre Walther PK380 that I carried in a holster on my right hip.

I had been warned that this test was for Mindy, but that it would test me, too! Mindy looked very nervous and I knew that while she was not scared of the dark, she hated being alone like this.

I hoped that she was okay.

* * *

I thought Damon had gone a bit far with this task.

If the kids survived, then Mindy would graduate to being a vigilante and Dave would complete his post-graduate tasking.

I was not worried, but a little apprehensive despite knowing that Dave could handle himself and would protect Mindy with his life.

* * *

The first attack occurred, just as the rain came down harder.

I heard something nearby that was louder than the rain pelting down and felt a chill rise up my back. Then something snapped, it sounded like a gunshot, but I knew that it was only a stick. I span around and saw a large shadow coming towards me.

I ran!

The rain was making it difficult to see properly. I had no idea if the wetness on my face was rain or tears. Fear started to creep up my back, along with the chills. Then the adrenalin started to surge in my veins.

I saw a tree, dived behind it, rolled as Dave had taught me, came back up with the pistol in both hands, and aimed in front of me. I heard heavy footsteps closing and tried desperately to stop my hands from shaking with the growing fear. Somebody was crashing through the undergrowth and coming closer.

Then the noise stopped and I heard only the wind and the rain as both rushed through the trees.

* * *

I could see the large man closing on Mindy.

He was only yards away from her, when he paused and looked around cautiously. Did he sense a trap? That was when I heard a noise, from behind me. Somebody was stalking me! I span around, but saw nothing. When I turned back towards the man and Mindy, the man was gone.

Mindy!

* * *

I heard movement on the other side of the large tree.

I braced myself, then I heard two gunshots from a ways off and the man on the other side of the tree bolted. I aimed and fired three rounds. All three bullets missed the running man. I scrambled out from behind the tree and ran.

My pants were soaked, but again I had no idea if it was from the rain or something else.

* * *

The man was dead.

I had killed him with two rounds to his chest. I left the dead man and ran towards where I had last seen Mindy. I then heard three rapid shots and saw a man running away from me. The trees prevented me from getting a shot off and I was worried about hitting Mindy.

I ran to the large tree where Mindy had been hiding. She was no longer there; however, I did find three fresh cartridge cases.

I ran in the direction of the escaping man.

* * *

I had fucked up!

I had missed that man. How? Dave had taught me to shoot and my aim was much better now! I came to a rapid halt.

Oh, fuck!

There on the ground a few yards away, was the man. He was on his front and trying to crawl away. I could see two bullet holes in his back. I hadn't missed! The man must have heard my approach. He rolled onto his back.

"Help me!" He croaked.

My legs felt weak and I was shaking. Fear? I had no idea! I moved closer, aiming the pistol at the man's body, 'centre mass', as Dave called it.

It was now or never, Mindy!

* * *

I stopped.

I could see Mindy through the trees. She was standing over something. She was holding her pistol, just as I had taught her, with two hands. I crept closer and saw that it was the man, whom I had seen running away. He was down; Mindy must have shot him earlier.

Mindy was soaked to the skin and I could see apprehension and fear on her face. Her hands were shaking slightly. She took two paces forwards and raised the pistol towards the man's head.

Mindy took the shot; there was hardly any hesitation. The man shook as the four bullets entered his body, working upwards until blood pooled around his destroyed head.

"Perfect, Mindy!" I said, running up and staring at the dead man.

"Was I?" Mindy asked tonelessly.

"Huh?" I asked and turned to face Mindy.

She stood there a moment longer, the pistol still held out in front of her. My pal looked up at me, but she seemed different; her eyes were darker. Maybe it was my imagination, but this did not seem like the little Mindy that I had known for the past three years.

"You did good, Mindy," I said and put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to me.

* * *

Everything happened so fast.

One second Dave was cuddling me, the next he was thrown backwards and I heard two gunshots.

I saw a shadow ahead of me. The man had just shot Dave and was now turning his pistol towards me. I don't know what happened; I seemed to be on autopilot as my training took over. I ejected the empty magazine, brought the spare magazine out of my pocket, inserted it, and pulled back the slide. Then without a moment's hesitation, I shot the man in the head, with a single round.

I span around, searching for any more men creeping up on us. Then I jumped as I heard three rapid shots from behind me and span back around to see a man falling to the ground, dead.

Kick-Ass rose up from the ground, rubbing his chest with his left gauntlet, his pistol held out in front of him.

"Fuck that hurt!"


	9. Hit Girl

**_Later that night  
Saturday_**

"She gonna be okay?"

I had been concerned about Mindy; she had been quiet all the way back in the car. She was soaked to the skin and shivering, but had refused a cuddle from me, which was a first. I was soaked too, but my suit had kept me reasonably dry and warm. Mindy just sat there huddled in a thick blanket.

"Yes, Dave – she'll be fine. Mindy did brilliantly – and so did you, pal!"

"Thanks Dad!" I replied, but I was still worried. When we had found our way to the car, we had found Dad and Damon arguing about something and it had looked to be getting quite heated! As soon as they saw us approach, they both stopped arguing and smiled happily; I wasn't fooled for a second!

We all went straight to the Safehouse to shower and change into dry clothes. Mindy was still uncommunicative. I tried to engage her in conversation, but she just gave me blank looks, with the odd attempt at a smile.

By the time I had come out of the shower, Mindy was still looking distinctly unhappy. I had never seen her like this before. I found her in our bedroom, closed the door behind me, and sat down beside her.

* * *

"What's up, Mindy?" I asked.

"Noth –"

"Mindy!"

Mindy glared at me for a minute, before she relented.

"Okay, jeez! At first, I was scared. Then I was mad because I thought I had missed that man. Then I felt shock as I found that I had hit him, _twice_. Then I _shot_ the man."

"So?" I asked. "What was wrong with that?"

"_What was wrong?_" Mindy demanded, facing me for the first time, her temper flaring.

I nodded. "Tell me, Mindy – I am your friend and always will be."

"You are more than that, Dave – You are my best and only friend and I can tell you anything." Mindy said. "But I feel too ashamed to tell you what was wrong..."

I was a little surprised at that. Mindy had never held anything back. It must be bad, for Mindy always spoke her mind – always! Then I had another surprise – tears, tears of shame!

"Mindy – tell me!" I insisted.

"Promise me you won't tell Daddy, or anybody – ever!"

"I promise."

"I – I... Dave I..." Mindy looked up at me and she looked horrified. "Dave I enjoyed it!"

* * *

**_The following morning_**

**_Safehouse A_**

Mindy seemed more herself when she woke up.

As we came out of the bedroom, I saw Dad and then Damon. They were both smiling. I could see something on the table. I was shoved out of the way by Mindy as she saw what was on the table. All I could see was purple!

Mindy could not stop grinning.

* * *

Overall, the suit was purple – very purple!

To cut down on weight, the suit had been designed to allow unimpeded movement, rather than to provide heavy armour.

On top of thin shorts and a t-shirt, Mindy pulled on a two-part mauve bodysuit. The lower section went from her ankles to just above her hips and had a skirt of purple tartan attached. The skirt came down not much lower than the hips. The top section went on like a jacket and zipped up at the front. The bodysuit, lightly padded and tight fitting, was made of a composite-Kevlar material.

On top of this bodysuit, the armour was worn. The armour was to Type IIA standards and was modular in design. The main armour section covered Mindy's front from the top of her sternum to a few inches above her waist and wrapped around her body. Other sections of armour ran over her shoulders from front to back, with a section to protect her collarbone, and joined at the rear to protect her shoulder blades.

Around her waist was an armour belt that also supported armour for her thighs. The armour sections had a mediaeval leather-effect look and were purple with the stitching completed in a pale pink. The knees were protected with mauve pads. On her feet were mauve leather boots with thick soles. The boots ran up over the ankle and provided protection up to a few inches below the knees.

She wore a black domino mask that protected her identity. The mask was topped off by a glossy, purple wig. On her hands, she wore black gauntlets that protected her wrists and lower arms. The elbows were protected by mauve pads. Finishing off the entire costume was a black cape that dropped down, to just below her knees. Overall, it was almost impossible to identify that it was sweet, blonde haired, little Mindy beneath that costume.

* * *

"Okay – the suit is cool! But who the hell am I?" Mindy demanded.

"Well, we decided that as you are a girl..."

"Just noticed have you?" Mindy asked, getting impatient.

"... and you can move quickly, and hit as you go," Damon said, ignoring Mindy. "So we decided on…"

"Kick-Ass, meet Hit Girl!" Dad said proudly.

"Awesome identity!" I said holding out my hand to Hit Girl who shook it.

"Hit Girl!" Mindy mused. "Not bad – I like it!"

"You look amazing, baby doll!" Damon said, looking proudly at his daughter. "Now, try this for size – just be real careful!"

Damon passed across a long staff, very similar to the Jo-staff, except that this was a bō-staff and there were an identical pair of lethal, incredibly sharp blades, one at each end. This bō-staff could also separate at the mid-section to form two separate swords. These could then be wielded independently of each other.

Initially, Mindy would only use the bō-staff, which would be slung across her back. The bō-staff would replace the Jo-staff and it used the same basic movements. Over the past weeks, Mindy had become very accomplished with the Jo. She was also perfectly capable of holding her own against my batons, despite her limited stature! The Jo hurt, too, when she rammed the end into your stomach, armoured or not!

The final weapon, or indeed pair of weapons were two equally lethal Benchmade Model 42 Balisongs. These knives were very sharp, but very light. Mindy had received both of the knives for her birthday from Damon and had been practicing every night since. Her fingers and hands had little cuts and nicks from where her practicing had not gone so well!

Overall, Hit Girl seemed to be a force to be reckoned with and I was looking forward to fighting alongside her. Yes, her testing seemed to have taken its toll on her, but I believed that Mindy was capable of getting over that issue and I would help her, every step of the way.


	10. Play Date

**_Two weeks later  
Saturday night_**

We were going out, together, as Kick-Ass and Hit Girl – for the very first time!

I was nervous as fuck!

Daddy and James would be watching. I had asked if they were getting costumes and Daddy had said that his was on its way, but James said he was still unsure about getting one. I told him that it would be cool!

Our first target together was to be some small-time drug dealers. Actually, these were so 'small-time' that the average kindergarten kid could take them out with a BB gun! However, Kick-Ass and I needed to prove that we could work, as an effective team. Saying that we could, was one thing, doing it, was another, of course.

"You ready, baby doll?" Daddy asked in the car as we parked up, down a very dark alley.

"Can we get a dog?" I asked, totally out of the blue, and Daddy's smile vanished.

"You wanna get a dog?" He asked, with no humour in his voice.

"Yeah, you know – a cuddly fluffy one!" I tried to look serious.

Dave was laughing in the seat beside me. Daddy _did not_ look happy – I thought he might have been about to have a heart attack!

I laughed to break the tension. "I'm just fuckin' with you, Daddy!"

Daddy's shoulders slumped and he growled. "Oh, child..."

..._...

Kick-Ass and I moved through the darkness, keeping to the shadows as we neared the alley where the drug dealers hung out.

"Take the next alley on your left..." James instructed over the communications gear that we all wore.

"Now this is it, honey bun – make us proud!" Daddy said.

"You know what to do, son!" James added.

* * *

Hit Girl was enjoying herself, I thought.

We turned into the alley as instructed. There were four men and all were gathered around a makeshift table of sorts. I drew my batons and Hit Girl slipped the bō-staff from her back. Hit Girl went first and entered the flickering light that spilled from a fire that burned in an oil drum beside the druggies.

One of the men looked up and saw Hit Girl.

"Well look what we have here!" The man laughed and the other three men turned to look and all laughed at Hit Girl.

..._...

I saw Hit Girl brace herself – I knew that neither words, nor laughter could never hurt her and I knew that she knew that, too. One man grabbed hold of a baseball bat and took a step towards Hit Girl. He swung the bat at Hit Girl, but she ducked, rolling backwards. The man thought he had hit her because he turned his back on her and smirked to his friends.

"Thank you!" The man said, as he was congratulated by his pals.

Suddenly, the man braced up and almost a foot of razor-sharp blade emerged from the man's chest. The man froze, his eyes bulging and then he jerked as the blade was yanked backwards, out of his torso. The man dropped to his knees and then to the floor, revealing a grinning Hit Girl, standing behind him, twirling her bō-staff.

..._...

"Okay, you cunts... Let's see what you can do now!" Hit Girl growled, putting as much menace into her young voice as she could.

"What the fuck!" One of the men exclaimed in horror at the sight before him.

"Eenie meenie miney mo!" She chanted, looking at each of the men in turn, before launching herself at the three men on the last word.

The three men were fast, I had to give them that, they each seized hold of a baseball bat and moved to defend themselves.

Hit Girl intercepted the first bat with her blade and span around catching the man across the jaw with her right boot. Following this, she spun around ducking and dodging the swipes from the bats of the three men. I could tell by her expression that she was enjoying herself. Finally, she slashed open the back of one of the men and he dropped to the concrete floor of the alley, screaming. One man moved towards the table and grabbed a large knife, but Hit Girl saw him and performed the most amazing back flip, catching the man around the head with her boot and sending him crashing into the wooden table, which collapsed in pieces beneath his body.

I moved in and made sure that the man would not move again, cracking him around the head with one of my batons. Hit Girl then performed a perfect cartwheel and drive one end of her bō-staff into the abdomen of the next man as he attempted to swing his bat. The man crashed backwards against the wall and stayed still.

There was only one man left and he seemed much more cautious than the others were.

"So you wanna play!" Hit Girl growled, taking a pause to get her breath back.

"No!" The man replied, fear in his voice.

Hit Girl span her bō-staff – it was something she was extremely good at doing. I ensured that the only way out of the alley was past Hit Girl. The man eventually raised his bat and went for her, but Hit Girl was ready and neatly sliced off his lower right leg before spinning around and coming down hard, burying a blade into the man's back.

She had an awesome grin on her face – I just thought, 'What the fuck!'

* * *

I was breathing heavily by the end of that fight.

I looked around at the four dead bodies. That had been easier than I had initially thought. Kick-Ass was smiling at me; he had helped too. We made a good team – I had been able to fight, knowing that Kick-Ass would protect my back and that allowed me to out everything that I had into my movements.

We proceeded to gather up what money there was, ignoring drugs and weapons. Daddy had been insistent that we were only to take the money, nothing else! Kick-Ass picked up a bag and stuffed it with wads of dollar bills.

"Well done, Hit Girl! Leave the bag at the entrance to the alley and then head west," Daddy instructed.

Kick-Ass and I did exactly as instructed, dumping the bag and heading to the west, keeping to the shadows.

* * *

We moved half a mile west before we were directed to head down an alley and then up the fire escape that climbed up the back of a crappy looking building.

I thought that Hit Girl was looking tired, so I hoped that she would be able to get through the night. It was just past ten o'clock as we paused outside the window of the equally crappy apartment. Inside the apartment, I saw three people – easy!

"I have three inside, Hit Girl!" I whispered.

"One for you and two for me!" Hit Girl replied, full of energy.

"Not gonna happen – my turn bitch!"

* * *

I looked at Damon and laughed.

"Now don't get ahead of yourselves – share!" I called over the comms.

"Yes Dad!"

"If I have to!"

"That's my girl!" Damon chuckled.

* * *

I drew my batons and stood to one side of the window.

Mindy readied her bō-staff and waited on the other side of the window. It was time to move – I swung my right hand outwards and drove my baton through the glass of the window. The moment the glass dropped out of the frame, I swung through it and into the apartment. Immediately behind me came Hit Girl.

The three people in the room, two men and a woman turned at the sound of the breaking glass. I crack the closest man over the head with a baton, sending him down hard. Hit Girl drove her bō-staff into the chest of the man nearest to her, then I clubbed down the last man.

"Cool!" Hit Girl exclaimed, looking around.

"That was fun!" I commented.

"Behind you!" Hit Girl shouted and I turned to see a man coming out of what looked like the bathroom. He was smoking – probably a joint or something.

As soon as he saw us, he thrust his hand into his pocket, pulled out a Balisong, and flipped it open trying to look like he knew what he was doing. I stepped back and let Hit Girl face him; she smiled.

"Hey, I got one of those!" She said happily, thrusting her bō-staff into a dead corpse and drawing one of her own Balisongs.

Hit Girl proceeded to flick her Balisong open, replicating the same movements that the druggie had used; he looked a little shocked when he saw this, as well as the 'I can do that too' look that Hit Girl gave him. She then threw the blade straight and true into the man's stomach, and I followed up with a jumping kick into the man's chest. The man flew backwards into the bathroom and I heard something smash, so his landing must have hurt!

Hit Girl walked over and turned to face me. She opened her mouth to say something, just as a door behind her opened and I saw a man with a large kitchen knife held up high, ready to plunge down into Hit Girl's back. I just had time to point and Hit Girl turned her head then screamed.

..._...

The man crashed to the floor, the wall behind him covered with his exploding brains.

"Now Hit Girl, we always keep our backs, where?" Damon growled over the comms.

"Err – to the wall, Daddy. I know, um, it... it won't happen again – nice shot by the way!" Hit Girl replied, sounding a little startled.

"Thank you," Damon replied.


	11. Cool Down

**_Five days later  
Thursday_**

**_The House_**

I was _not_ happy!

Daddy had refused to let us go out again. He said we needed to 'cool down' and rest. That was fucking bullshit! Okay, I was wiped out by the time we had returned to the Safehouse and I had slept until almost three, the following afternoon; my muscles ached too. I so desperately wanted to be Hit Girl again and I knew Dave was very keen to be Kick-Ass once again, too.

Instead, we had had to put up with a few more days of schoolwork, and it sucked, big time! For some reason or other, I was always getting into trouble. Maybe spraying superglue onto Dave's chair, before he sat down, had not been the best idea, but even his Mom had laughed – eventually.

Anyways, it was time for fun, now. It was Christmas Eve.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Friday, Christmas Day_**

**_The House_**

James was smirking and Daddy looked annoyed. Dave and his Mom sat on the couch pretending to ignore everything.

"Go look in the kitchen, honey," James prompted.

I walked over and gingerly walked around to the kitchen.

..._...

In front of me, sitting patiently was a dog – an Alsatian or German Shephard, which would explain the lesson on dogs, we had received on Wednesday!

The dog just looked up at me, its tongue hanging out of its mouth, as it panted happily and tipped its head to one side. There was something tucked under its thick, leather collar. It was a note.

Hi, Mindy. M_y name is Sophia; I want to be your friend.  
Will you look after me? I need a home and somebody  
to look after me. I also like to have my belly rubbed!_

Wow! A dog, for me? Sophia whined, so I tentatively put my hand out and she licked it. I giggled at the touch of the warm, wet tongue. Then she shot forwards and bowled me over backwards. She started to lick my face; I was giggling non-stop.

This was the best fucking Christmas, ever!

* * *

"You got her a dog!"

It was more statement than question and Damon's tone was obviously that of someone who was very annoyed.

"Yeah, I did," James. "Not a cute, fluffy one, but a practical one."

"You got her a dog!" Damon repeated.

"You can take it away from her, if you want!" James said facetiously.

"Fucking bastard! I can't take that dog away from her now!" Damon growled. "She's in love with the fucking mutt!"

"Pure bred; she'll be one hell of a bitch when fully grown, but she'll be easy to train and extremely loyal," James commented.

"The dog, too!" Damon laughed.

* * *

Sophia was awesome.

We had met the previous evening, before Mindy even knew she existed. We had hit it off straight away. I was not sure that Damon agreed with having a dog, but Mindy loved her. Sophia was a little over one-year-old and had been meticulously trained since she was a puppy. Sophia would follow every command to the letter.

She was also very powerful, even at that age; as Mindy found soon out when we took Sophia out for the first time and Mindy was dragged along the grass in Central Park!

By the time we had returned to The House, for lunch, Mindy was covered in grass and mud, not that she cared! I had to agree with Mindy; that Christmas had to have been the best ever.

We were now vigilantes and we were a family – of sorts.

* * *

Maybe the dog _was_ a good idea; James was usually spot on with his ideas and I had not seen Mindy that happy in a long time.

Mindy loved her and between her and Dave, I knew that Sophia would be well looked after. That same afternoon, after arriving back home from Central Park, I had started sketching out some ideas for a suit, for Sophia.

I emailed a copy to James and he called minutes later.

"Knew you'd come around, eventually, you big softy!" James laughed.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Nice idea, but could do with a few changes here and there..."

* * *

**_A week later  
Thursday night_**

**_Safehouse A_**

Finally!

It was New Year's Eve and time to kick some criminal butt! We were being allowed to go out again, as Kick-Ass and Hit Girl. Daddy had explained that this was a night, when criminals would come out to play and cause shit. We would keep an eye out and protect those who just wanted to enjoy the evening.

* * *

We were going to concentrate on the area around the Safehouse.

It meant that we could travel on foot and we would be followed by Damon and Sophia, on foot and Dad in a beat up old Ford SUV.

There was a distinct difference, though. We were both armed. I carried a Walther P99, chambered in nine-millimetre, while Mindy had a Walther P22 pistol with a purple frame, which she had received from Damon for Christmas. My pistol was also a Christmas present and was from Mom and Dad. Both pistols came with combat flashlights and suppressors.

In addition to my batons, I also carried another Christmas present, a pair of black, seven-inch Hissatsu blades; one was mounted in a sheath, on each thigh.

* * *

Fuck, it was cold!

Kick-Ass and I kept to the shadows as usual. I was pleased to be carrying a pistol now and I loved Kick-Ass' new blades, they were awesome.

All around us we could hear people celebrating as the time moved slowly towards midnight and the year 2010. Many people were drunk be ten o'clock, but we continued with our patrol, keeping to the shadows and watching for trouble.

However, trouble soon found us.

* * *

"Hey, it's a kiddie's costume party!"

We stopped and around eight men gathered, blocking the sidewalk in front of us.

"I see it, take your time, kids – work the problem," Damon called over the comms.

I drew my batons and Hit Girl brought her bō-staff from her back and readied it in front of her. We faced off against the men, side by side. The man that had initially challenged us, called out again.

"Oh, the kiddies have teeth. Let's teach them that little kiddies should stay safe at home." He turned and shouted a name. "Victor!"

'Victor' stepped forwards – he was over six-foot tall, and heavily built; he would be a challenge. The man grinned and it occurred to me that this man probably enjoyed beating up kids.

"Stay with me, Hit Girl – I'm leading this," I said and Hit Girl nodded. I could sense her apprehensiveness, but I was sure that it would pass.

We advanced side by side towards Victor; he was smiling, seeing an easy win. Only, we were not going to comply with his 'easy win'. Damon had made us both practice how to take down a larger target, such as Victor.

..._...

Victor threw the first punch at me, but I was able to dodge easily to one side and kicked Victor hard in the side of his knee, causing it to buckle, following up with a baton into his stomach. Hit Girl had taken the distraction and smacked the shaft of her bō-staff into his other knee. Victor grunted with the pain, but quickly shrugged it off. His pals were laughing and enjoying the show. Victor then made for Hit Girl, seeing her as an easier target. He found Hit Girl to a difficult target; I knew from experience that Mindy could be fast and flexible. This meant that she could weave and squeeze through small gaps, avoiding Victor's attempts to catch her. At one stage she skidded between the man's legs, 'ringing the bell' as Mindy liked to call it! Victor was not amused and received jeers from his pals. This prompted him to up the ante by drawing a monstrous knife that was almost a machete.

Both Hit Girl and I had been taught to only use, appropriate force, which was why we attacked Victor without using blades or firearms. Now, though, Victor had moved the fight to the next level and so would we. I stowed one of my batons and drew a Hissatsu blade in my right hand. Hit Girl, of course, already had her blades ready.

Victor swung his blade at me, but he was intercepted by Hit Girl and her bō-staff. I knew Hit Girl would not be able to hold Victor, so I took the opportunity and stabbed the man in his left thigh. Victor emitted what could only be described as a bellow of pain. He drew back his blade back, but before he could bring it down, Hit Girl slashed her bō-staff downwards and severed his lower arm. I spun around and buried my Hissatsu blade into Victor's heart.

..._...

The man crashed to the ground, an ever-increasing pool of blood spreading around his body.

"You fucking little bastards – you are fucking dead," The leader yelled. "Get the bastards, cut them down!"

Knives appeared in every hand, as all but the leader ran forwards. It was two against six – no problem! I stood on Victor's back and then leapt at the nearest cunt, smashing his nose with a baton and stabbing him in the neck with the Hissatsu. As the body dropped, I rolled forwards and came back to my feet behind the attacking men. I felt a knife hit my back armour, but the tip never penetrated. I reversed the Hissatsu and stabbed backwards, catching my attacker in the stomach. He screamed and dropped to the ground, blood pouring through the hands clutching at his abdomen.

I turned back to the fight.

* * *

I slashed as the first man came close, but my blade was intercepted by his own blade.

The man punched out, catching me on my right shoulder and I spun backwards, catching myself and driving the opposite end of my bō-staff into the man's chest. He hung above me, for a moment, as I pivoted him over me and dragged the blade out of his chest. The man tried to talk, but nothing came out before he died.

A gunshot rang out and I felt a bullet hit the right side of my chest armour. The momentum sent me spinning and I fell to the ground. Two more, rapid, shots rang out and I saw the man with a pistol drop, as Kick-Ass lowered his Walther and then brought it back up, double tapping one of the remaining men as he came towards me.

I scrambled to my feet, but slipped on the blood that covered the sidewalk and went back down again. The sixth man was fighting with Kick-Ass, but the leader of the cunts, came forward and drew a large, Colt 1911 from his belt and aimed it directly at my head.

"Say goodnight, bitch!"


	12. Eisenhower

**_Thursday night  
New Year's Eve_**

"Say goodnight, bitch!"

I stared into the enormous muzzle of the Colt 1911 and I felt fear.

Then out of nowhere, something large flew over me and shoved the man backwards. The 'something' was snarling, wore black body armour and as I rolled over to look, I saw the animal was wearing a mask, too.

I scrambled to my feet; Kick-Ass was still fighting the sixth man. The leader, however, was on his back fighting off the snarling dog. On the side of the animal's body-armour, was a name patch: **EISENHOWER**. I drew my pistol, stepped forwards, and issued a command.

"Eisenhower, here!"

The dog instantly stopped trying to rip the man's throat out and she came over and stood beside me panting hard and issuing a deep, menacing growl. I gave her a friendly pat and Eisenhower stared at the man, as I approached and I aimed my pistol at his face. Beside me, I noticed Kick-Ass join me; he had obviously ended his fight successfully.

"Who the fuck _are_ you two?" The man demanded, fear in his eyes as he looked at me.

"Me, I'm Hit Girl!"

The man then turned to my pal.

"I'm Kick-Ass!"

We tied the man up and left him for the Cops. The night was going well; we continued our patrol, with Eisenhower beside us.

This year was going to end on _the_ perfect note.

* * *

"Good call, Damon!"

"Seemed as good a time as any," Damon, replied as he leant against the SUV.

"That doggie suit was cool," I added, leaning out the SUV window.

"I do good work at times!"

..._...

The two kids and their canine escort were eighty yards down the street from the alley where I was parked chatting with Damon. The fight had gone well, even to the point where Mindy had almost had her pretty, little head blown off. Damon had released Sophia in her alter ego of Eisenhower, just seconds before the man had raised the pistol. The dog had been straining at her leash, desperate to help her mistress.

Mindy and that dog had proved inseparable. The dog would do anything for her and for Dave, too. The dog was more than one hundred percent obedient and loyal. I was very pleased that the kids had extra support. Now they were 'qualified', their exposure to danger would steadily increase until we deemed them ready to face their ultimate targets.

* * *

"You two ready?"

"Yes, Daddy!"

"Now, what did I say you should call me when in costume, Hit Girl?"

"Sorry, err, Big Daddy!"

"Stop laughing, asshole!"

"Sorry, Damon – err, Big Daddy!" James chuckled happily.

"Thirty seconds!"

"Five, four, three, two, one!"

* * *

**_Monday, January 1st, 2012_**

"Happy New Year!" We all shouted together and Eisenhower barked, loudly.

It had been two years since our first real night out. As had done, every year since, we patrolled on New Year's Eve – keeping the City safe. Eisenhower was with us, as usual, protecting our backs. The dog often sensed criminals, a long time before we saw or even heard them!

Mindy was now a sprightly ten-year-old, not to mention a good four inches taller than before. Me? I had grown, too; five inches! I was now five months short of my thirteenth birthday and I had also broadened out quite a bit. Mindy was still her usual, slight frame, but she had muscles too; do not get me wrong on that subject.

We, that was Kick-Ass and Hit Girl, were now well known amongst the criminal fraternity. The majority of petty criminals avoided us like the plague. The serious criminals often put up a fight. Eisenhower only went out about once a month, usually on difficult patrols. We had also discovered that she had a liking for, well, a liking for dick!

..._...

Interesting how it happened, actually. Purely by chance, too.

Mindy had learnt some new words, from the internet – principally swear words; so no surprise there! One of the words was 'Schwanz', which is a German word and translated, it referred to a man's prick or his penis. Mindy, as expected, had thought it a great word and had used it one night with interesting results!

Marcus, however, had not been amused and had appeared the following morning to see Damon. I had been there at the time, too.

"Damon – what are you up to?" Marcus asked.

"No idea what you're talking about, Marcus!"

"Went to interview a man, in the hospital, last night," Marcus explained. "Had a great story to tell. Apparently, among other things, Hit Girl's dog bit him, between the legs and the dog had refused to let go until Hit Girl had given the necessary order!"

Marcus then looked directly at Mindy, who to her credit only went slightly pink; nevertheless, she said nothing. Damon just laughed.

"So, some punk had a dog on his balls!" He exclaimed, smirking at Sophia. "Who gives a shit?"

Marcus had opened his mouth to reply but paused and then shut it again.

"Never mind! It really is good to see you, Mindy – you're looking good and growing fast."

Mindy did blush, properly this time.

"She _is_ growing," Damon admitted, glad of the change of subject. "Every time that I buy her new clothes, they last only a few weeks!"

"Stay safe, _please_!" Marcus implored as he left.

* * *

Between us both, we now had many notches in our belts.

We supported each other, no matter what we came across, or whatever came across us. We were the perfect team. We were supported by Mindy's Dad, who went by the alter ego of 'Big Daddy'. He wore a black costume with body armour and a long black cape. He had an armoured cowl, type helmet, which covered all but his lower face. Damon seemed to enjoy dressing up, not to mention a flair for amateur dramatics, but he was also lethal in combat and favoured using knives, pistols and explosives.

As for Dad, well he proved to be very lethal too – I myself was very surprised when I had first seen him take a life, in one swift movement, snapping the man's neck in less than a second. Dad's alter ego was 'Commando' and he wore a semi-armoured suit that was mottled green in colour and his head, and face, were covered by a balaclava style mask, of the same colour. No skin was visible. Dad was highly skilled with knives and firearms from his time in the U.S. Marines. He favoured the Ka-Bar knife and the Glock 21 pistol, chambered in .45 ACP.

..._...

It was actually rare for our Dads to fight. It was mostly left to us, kids. This was mainly for training, but whenever we went out, one or other and sometimes both of our Dads were somewhere close. Damon was a skilled sniper, and he would provide long distance support as required, with backup from Dad as required.

Now that Mindy and I were bigger, our sparring had increased in its ferocity and it was normal for both of us to be covered in bruises. Mindy herself sometimes became carried away. She often came away with a black eye or cuts to her body. As I attained higher levels of strength, I had to be careful not to put Mindy out of action.

We had both been lucky over the preceding two years. We had bruises and we had had many narrow escapes. However, narrow escapes were part of the risk, which we took each and, every time that we went out as Kick-Ass and Hit Girl.

* * *

**_Four weeks later_**

**_Saturday, 28th January 2012_**

"You take the left end of the alley, I'll take the right."

"You got it, Kick-Ass!" I responded.

It was cold out, but our suits kept us warm. The suits that Kick-Ass and I wore were not the same suits that we had worn previously. I was on my third suit and Kick-Ass was on his fourth. Dad complained constantly, but it was not _our_ fault, that we were growing!

I crept along the alley, keeping to the shadows as always. I kept an eye out ahead of me as well as keeping any eye on where I was placing my feet to minimise noise. I knew that Kick-Ass would be approaching from the opposite end of the alley. We had been together now, for a little over five years and knew each other in intimate detail. We knew what each other was thinking and we could anticipate each other's actions.

Our targets, for that night, were the usual druggies. These, though, were the upper echelon drug-dealers and required more skill for the takedown and as a bonus, they worked for our ultimate target Frank, fucking D'Amico!

..._...

"Hey, bitches!" I growled, attracting the attention of the five men in the alley. "Which one of you assholes wants to be fucked first?"

"Tasteful as ever!" I heard Kick-Ass groan over the earpiece in my left ear. I ignored him, but I could see him, a few yards beyond the assholes.

"We're not scared of you, you jumped up little bitch!" One man called over. "You know who we work for?"

"Yeah: Frank 'I like to blow myself' D'Amico!" I called back.

"Art, Ryan. Go show this purple bitch some fucking manners!"

"You got it, boss!"

* * *

The two men advanced on Hit Girl.

She could handle them, so I moved towards the remaining threesome. There was no banter from me; it was Hit Girl, who had the flair for the amateur dramatics, just like her Dad, not to mention her flair for fancy entrances! I went straight in and knifed two of the men with a Hissatsu in each of their chests. They sank to the ground as I withdrew my blades, wiping them on the dead men's clothing.

Hit Girl was 'playing' with her targets as usual. She loved to drag things out and have fun!

"Hey, Hit Girl – stop playing and end it!" I called loudly.

The man in front of me turned rapidly to face me as Hit Girl yelled back her response.

"I never, play!" She replied, indignantly and quickly drove her bō-staff into the chest of each man before she then came over to the remaining man who stood before me.

The man turned around to stare at Hit Girl.

"You be good, now!" Hit Girl growled and whacked the man across the face with the shaft of her bō-staff.

* * *

**_The following morning_**

**_Central Manhattan_**

Big Joe exited the elevator, with Cody, and nodded to the guards before heading down the corridor.

The corridor was lined with bookshelves and opened out into a room that had a large couch and a kitchen. There were panoramic views of the City through floor to ceiling windows. Cody waited in the corridor while Frank continued onwards.

"Good morning, Frank!"

"Hey, Joe, how you doing!" Frank D'Amico replied.

"Great!"

"Coffee?"

"Maybe later, morning Ang!"

"Morning!" Angie D'Amico replied.

"Chris!"

"Morning, Joe!" Chris D'Amico replied going back to his comic.

..._...

Big Joe followed Frank D'Amico into the Boss' office and indicated for Cody to follow. D'Amico motioned for them both to sit.

"Ronnie says the guy came out of nowhere and kicked their asses, then flushed the coke down the fucking drain!" Big Joe explained.

"This would be the guy who looks like Batman?"

"He had like a mask and stuff…" Big Joe began.

"...and a cape – you know, like Batman," Cody added.

"So, let me get this straight," Frank D'Amico, mused. "That's the tenth hit in four fucking months and you're telling me that I'm being fucked in the ass by two kids, playing fucking dress up and some lunatic dressed up as fucking Batman!"

"Yeah, Boss!" Big Joe replied matter-of-factly.

"Don't forget the masked dog!" Cody dropped in.

"Jesus, fucking, Christ!"


	13. Unlucky For Some

**_Three days later  
Wednesday_**

**_The Lizewski House_**

"Alice, could I ask a question, please?"

Alice took a moment to take a breath. For some reason Alice always seemed slightly apprehensive when I asked a question; I had absolutely no idea why.

"If you must, Mindy!"

"When will I get stuff around my cunt?" I asked.

Dave started laughing. Alice closed her eyes and took a deeper breath before opening them again.

"Mindy. That is _not_ the correct term, dear. Try 'vagina' and the 'stuff' would be pubic hair. Probably another year for you," Alice explained before turning to her son and smirking. "Dave, on the other hand, probably only has a few more months."

Dave stopped laughing and started to blush slightly.

"He going to get hair, too?"

"Yes, Mindy."

"Could we change the subject, please," Dave moaned.

I turned and smirked at him.

"Problem, Dave?" I asked innocently.

Talking about my body was not even remotely embarrassing to me. However, despite the fact that we had both seen each other in the shower or changing, plenty of times, Dave was still shy when it came to talking about his body!

* * *

**_Three days later  
Saturday afternoon_**

"Fucking piece of shit!"

"You know, you really should not blame the motorcycle."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"My name is Joshua, and you are..."

"I'm Mindy."

"You need to lead the bike; don't let the bike lead you," The boy explained.

"He's right, you know – despite having a weird accent!" A girl announced, walking up.

"You two sisters?" The boy asked, looking at us both.

"Never met!" We both said together.

"I'm Chloe."

"Mindy."

"Joshua."

"Hi," Chloe said to both of us.

"Look, follow us around the track, well pace you."

* * *

We were spending the afternoon at a dirt motorcycle track.

Last summer, both Dad and Damon had thought it a good idea for us both to learn to ride. We had been learning to ride, competently, for a little over four months. Mindy was, naturally, a fast learner, but unfortunately for her, 'fast' was the problem. She insisted on going too fast and then as a result she tended to lose control. I was doing well, mainly as I was not trying to go fast!

Currently, I could see Mindy following a boy and a girl, both of whom she had been chatting to, soon after Mindy had come off her motorcycle, _yet again_! Now, though, Mindy was staying with the other two riders. The girl was wearing a navy-blue and white, all-in-one suit with a navy blue helmet. The boy wore a blue and red, all-in-one suit, with a Black helmet. Mindy was wearing her favourite all-in-one suit, which was pink and white, with a purple helmet.

The slower speed meant that Mindy was keeping the motorcycle under better control. I accelerated and came up behind Mindy, then slowly came up alongside. Mindy was concentrating on her riding and I was not sure if she had seen me or not. Not that it mattered as a few minutes later, the boy leading soon turned off, followed by the girl and then Mindy. He stopped, turned off his engine and then removed his helmet. The girl and Mindy removed their helmets, too, once they had stopped.

..._...

The new girl looked remarkably, like my Mindy had, about a year previously. She was a couple of inches shorter than Mindy, though. The boy was a couple of inches taller than Mindy and skinny.

Mindy turned to the girl and pointed at me.

"Chloe, meet Dave. Dave, meet Chloe."

"Hi Dave," Chloe said, smiling.

Mindy then turned to the boy, still pointing at me.

"Joshua, meet Dave. Dave, meet Joshua."

"How old are you two?" I asked.

"Nine," Chloe answered. "And a half."

"A little over ten and a half," Joshua added.

"Cool, I'm twelve and Mindy is ten. You two been riding long?"

"Since I was eight; as I was telling Mindy, she rides too fast," Josh explained.

"About a year," Chloe said.

"You're British, aren't you?" I asked Joshua.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Yes, you are," I laughed.

"Mindy's a bit of a speed freak," Joshua commented. "Likes to live life dangerously, doesn't she?"

"That she does!" I quipped.

"Funny, Dave!"

We exchanged contact details and chatted for a few minutes.

"Here's my Mom," Chloe said, pointing at a woman heading our way.

"She's with my Dad!" I said, rather surprised to see Chloe's mother talking to Dad.

* * *

Dave and Mindy were doing well.

Well enough that it was time for them to move to the next level.

I had seen Mindy chatting to another girl and a boy, who between them seemed to have reigned in Mindy's speed a bit and thus improved her riding skill. Turned out that I had been chatting to the girl's mother! The young girl was called Chloe Bennett and her Mother was Dr Cathy Bennett, who was currently seeing Alice. I was aware that Dr Bennett had a daughter, but up to that point had never met her.

"Hi, kids!" I said in greeting. "You must be Chloe. I'm Dave's Dad, James Lizewski."

"Hi, Mr Lizewski," Chloe said with a smile.

"I'm Joshua," Joshua said in greeting. "I need to go, see you guys again."

I watched as the boy pushed his motorcycle towards a tall man, wearing casual clothes. The man exuded presence and if I did not know any better, I would have said that he was military, probably Marines.

* * *

"Did you know Chloe's Mom, Dad?" I asked.

"Yes, we have met previously."

Dad never said another word on the way home, but his tone also said that the subject was closed. Nevertheless, I had enjoyed our afternoon and it was fun to meet some new friends. I had to admit that, other than the two of us, we never managed to see many other kids. I hoped that Damon and Dad would allow us to be friends.

* * *

We were _not_ going home!

"Err, James, where are we going?"

"Somewhere, little Mindy."

"I am _not_ 'little'!" I hated being called 'little'.

"My mistake!" James chuckled.

We finally stopped outside a small one-story building that had a steel roller shutter, which opened as we approached and James drove the car straight in. I noticed that the shutter closed behind us. There standing in front of us, grinning, was Daddy.

..._...

"What's up, Daddy?" I demanded as soon as I had jumped out of the car. Dave looked confused, too.

"Calm down, baby doll."

"You two ready?" James asked us both.

"I suppose," Dave said dubiously.

"Kick-Ass and Hit Girl – your new rides!" James announced pulling a pair of tarpaulins off two objects in the centre of the large space.

* * *

Mindy screamed.

I was speechless.

Parked side by side were two Ducati Hypermotard motorcycles. The bodywork on both motorcycles was Dark Stealth, while the frames were of a different colour for each machine. One frame was purple, while the other was green. That identified which motorcycle belonged to whom! As we walked around the bikes, we saw the licence plates. Mine read '**KICK**', while the other read '**HIT N RUN**'. The tyres on the machines were heavily treaded dual-purpose tyres.

Mindy looked like she was about to piss herself with excitement!

"They are yours, assuming you can both be trusted with them!" James said with a motorcycle helmet in each hand.

One helmet was purple, while the other was green and yellow. Both were full face, with built-in sun visors. We were both excited and could not wait to ride the motorcycles. Both Mindy and I had spent many hours gazing at the Ducati website, wistfully dreaming of riding one of the immensely powerful machines displayed there. Mindy particularly liked the Panigale, while I preferred the Diavel. James had caught us gazing at them several times, which must have given him the idea. Mindy had nagged Damon for weeks about getting a motorcycle, but he had kept ignoring her.

We both slept soundly that night, dreaming of our new motorcycles; life could not have been better.

* * *

**_Just over a week later  
Thursday, 16th February 2012_**

I had seen death and I had caused death.

I had seen people taken by death, including those who had not deserved to be taken.

I had however, never experienced the kinds of emotions that I was experiencing at that moment.

I had always been a little envious of Dave, for having a Mom. He had known his Mom; I had never known mine. However, I had seen Alice as my Mom, but now Dave and I only had our Daddies.

It was not as if we could even avenge her death; there was nobody to blame; nobody to hunt down; nobody to torture mercilessly and nobody to kill.

It had been an aneurysm, after all.

According to Dave, Alice had stood up during breakfast and complained of a severe headache. The next second she had dropped to the kitchen floor right then, and there. Daddy said that she was probably dead before she had hit the floor.

As a result, I had spent countless hours sitting and cuddling with Dave, sharing his sorrow and grief. I had felt the loss almost as much as he had, and I knew that he knew that.

We had actually slept in the same bed for a week, after the death. Neither of us had wanted to be alone.

* * *

**_A week later  
Thursday_**

**_West Brooklyn Cemetery_**

It was not how either of us had wanted to see Chloe again.

She came over to me, while her Mom was talking to Dad.

"I'm really sorry about your Mom, Dave," Chloe said with genuine feeling.

"Thanks, Chloe," I replied.

"Mom told me that Dave's Mom, was a Mom to you too," Chloe went on, looking at Mindy. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Chloe."

That afternoon sucked. I hated seeing Dave upset, especially as I was unable to do anything about it.

* * *

**_The following day  
Friday_**

The loss was hitting James hard, very hard.

I knew exactly what he was going through, having lost Kathleen over a decade before. I had to try to keep an eye on all three of them. My Mindy saw Alice as a surrogate Mom, so the loss had hit her too.

James needed a distraction.

The best option was an evening out, but I would need to find somebody to keep an eye on Bonnie Clyde for the night.

I did not expect Mindy to go along with it, though.

* * *

"I do not need a fucking babysitter!"

"You think I'm stupid enough to leave you two home alone?"

I saw Mindy open her mouth, but then think better of it.

"You are both staying with Dr Bennett and Chloe, for the night. Now, you will both – especially you, Mindy – you _will_ be on your _best_ behaviour."

"Yes, Daddy!" Mindy replied sweetly, in a rather unconvincing manner.

Somehow, I felt bad about inflicting Mindy on Dr Bennett.


	14. Letting Off Steam

**_That night  
Friday_**

**_Brooklyn_**

The man was dead before knowing he had even been stabbed, and before his body hit the ground outside the warehouse.

The dark form wiped off his knife on the corpse's clothing, rifled the pockets and continued along the dark alley beside the warehouse. Ahead of him was an access door with a fire escape above. Just as the dark form arrived at the door, another darker form dropped down beside him from the fire escape.

"Took your fucking time!" Big Daddy commented.

"Just warming up, 'Batman'!" Commando growled with some humour in his voice.

"I am not even going to respond to that – see you later!" Big Daddy growled back, before jumping back up the fire escape and heading for the roof of the facility.

Commando just shook his head and waited for the agreed signal.

* * *

Big Daddy crept along the roof, three stories up.

Ahead was his entrance point, a large skylight. He forced open the mechanism and clipped a Karabiner complete with a rope, to a convenient safety mount on the roof.

"Go!" Big Daddy growled into his communications and dropped silently through the skylight to the steel catwalk immediately below.

* * *

On the ground, Commando swiped the access card that he had retrieved from the dead guard.

The door clicked open and he entered the brightly lit interior. All the machines were silent; reconnaissance had identified at least fifteen armed men, on patrol around the facility floor, catwalks and walkways. There were expected to be another eight men in the four offices that overlooked the main floor. Big Daddy would come in from the roof and attack the Offices, while Commando was to clear the ground floor.

The green clad vigilante headed to the left. The intention was to remain silent and stealthy, for as long as possible. The first man fell to a Ka-Bar blade across his throat. The blood flowed down his chest and he gurgled the last seconds of his life away, unable to use the pistol in his hand. Another man died instantly as his heart was cut in two.

The dead man crumpled, silently to the concrete floor.

* * *

The black armoured form swept along the catwalk, his cape billowing behind.

The first gunman that he came across was facing away and turned just as a knife was plunged into his chest. He dropped the sub-machine gun that he held and tried in vain to stem the blood. He stared at the abomination above him, but died before he could comprehend what he had seen.

"Hey!"

It was another guard and he was running along the catwalk, directly towards Big Daddy. The guard raised his pistol, but Big Daddy batted it away easily, with his armoured gauntlet and struck the man in the face, then in the stomach, before dropping him over the railing.

* * *

The body landed with a thud at the feet of Commando, blood spreading in an ever-increasing pool from the smashed head.

"Messy bastard!" He growled, looking up over sixteen feet to the smirking Big Daddy.

Two men appeared, to investigate the noise of the body landing on the concrete floor. They hesitated at the sight of Commando. Their hesitation was their downfall, as Commando needed only seconds to send a pair of Fairburn Sykes commando knives into the chest of each man. Both men dropped their weapons and clutched their chests as they died and fell to the floor.

Commando strode forwards, standing on the chest of each man and yanking out the embedded blades. Then bullets struck the back armour of his suit and he rolled forwards coming up with a Glock 21 held in both hands and dropping the man with a double-tap to the head.

* * *

The surprise was over and their presence was now known.

Big Daddy swung himself over the railing and dropped down a support pillar to the next level below. Before him were four offices, two per side. Big Daddy pulled a grenade from his suit, removed the pin, counted to two, kicked open an office door, and then threw the grenade in.

He turned away as the grenade detonated, before repeating the same operation, three more times, in the remaining offices. The screams at the sight of the grenades were cut short by the deafening explosions and palls of fire that exploded from each office.

Three men were running towards Big Daddy, along the steel walkways that then converged at his location. Big Daddy drew a large Colt 1911 and gunned down each man, before dumping his magazine, inserting a full one and proceeding along the walkway, away from the offices as if nothing had happened.

* * *

As the explosions reverberated about the facility, Commando continued his attack.

He showed no emotion as he knifed or gunned down anybody that stood in his way. Two more men appeared around a large piece of machinery, each holding an H&amp;K MP5 sub-machine gun. Commando was in the open, so he crouched down and turned his back to them. They both emptied their magazines into the heavy back armour of his suit.

Before either man could reload, Commando turned and double-tapped each man in the head.

..._...

Coming around the next machine, Commando saw a hand, holding a pistol.

As he got closer, he was able to grab the hand and throw the man against the wall, before ramming his armoured fist into the man's astonished face! He looked upwards and saw a hand aiming a pistol towards Big Daddy. Commando simply reached up to grab the metal walkway and pulled himself up, before reaching for the man's legs and pulling him down. Commando then let himself fall and heard the man's back audibly snap.

..._...

Next, Commando felt an arm around his neck.

"Really!" He growled as he grabbed the arm and twisted it around, dislocating the elbow.

The arm's owner screamed and writhed on the ground in agony. Two more, much larger men approached Commando.

"You wanna fight, big man?" One asked without fear or apprehension.

"Bring it on!" Commando growled.

The first attack came from the side, which Commando fended off with his armoured lower arm. Then the other man attacked, kicking Commando back and smiling, thinking that he had the upper hand. Commando flexed his neck and stepped forwards.

"You a Ranger?" Commando asked conversationally.

"Yeah!"

"Thought so; I eat you pussies for breakfast!"

Commando proceeded to kick and punch until one man was laid out, flat on his back. The other man was _not_ happy and stood his ground. Commando drove three rapid punches home into the man's face, but this only seemed to make the man madder; he ignored the stream of blood from his nose and came forward kicking out and catching Commando on his right thigh where his armour absorbed most of the impact.

Commando intercepted the next strike from the man and flipped the man over backwards before allowing the man to regain his feet. The man smirked and drove forwards again; a knife in his hand, but this time Commando punched him in the centre of his chest and put the man down hard. The knife had flown out of the man's hand and as it fell to the ground, Commando caught it and then drove it into the man's forehead.

"You finished playing?" Big Daddy asked conversationally, as he approached.

"Yeah – it's been fun – I need a drink!"

* * *

**_Later, that same night_**

**_Near Brooklyn Bridge_**

"Do you _have_ to work tonight, Dad?"

"Yes, Josh – the bastard has called everybody in; something bad happened a couple hours ago. Now, you be good and get to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes, Dad."

* * *

**_That same night_**

**_The Bennett House_**

"Err, Mindy what the fuck is that?"

"What?"

Oh, crap! Mindy was undressing for bed and I could see exactly what was wrong, as she took off her trousers.

"We can explain!" I said to Chloe quickly.

"Why would you be carrying a concealed weapon, Mindy?" Chloe asked. "You're like ten-years-old!"

"Long story, but I like to carry protection," Mindy said lamely, removing the holster that fitted into the small of her back.

"It's a Walther P22, isn't it?" Chloe enquired.

It was our turn to be surprised now.

"You know weapons?" Mindy asked incredulously before continuing. "Yes, it is a Walther P22."

"Hey, I'm a Navy Brat; my Dad's a Commander in the Navy," Chloe explained. "He's taught me a thing or two."

I saw Chloe thinking. How could Mindy make such a stupid mistake? Damon would kill her!

"Fuck me!" Chloe exclaimed suddenly.

"Huh?" I asked.

"I know exactly who you two are!" Chloe went on. "You're Hit..."

Chloe never managed to finish her sentence as Mindy flew for Chloe, despite only wearing a t-shirt and knickers. However, Chloe blocked the strike and Mindy fell heavily to the floor. We all froze as a voice called up from downstairs.

"Bed!"

"Yes, Mom!" Chloe called.

Mindy stood up, rubbing her backside where it had hit the floor.

"I can defend myself, too!" Chloe said slyly. "You know, you should have just denied it, Mindy, instead of reacting like that – you kind of confirmed my suspicions."

"How?" I asked simply.

"I can see injuries on both of you. Your chest Dave and your right side – they look like fighting wounds, not to mention what looks like a bullet wound to Mindy's right thigh. Mindy also has marks on her body, which could only come from fighting. She also has some excellent reflexes!" Chloe explained. "Hey, my Mom's a Doc, I read her magazines. The pistol confirmed things, just a bit, too."

Mindy slumped onto the bed. "Fuck!"

"Your secret is safe with me, Dave, Mindy," Chloe said. "I promise."

* * *

**_That same night_**

**_The D'Amico Penthouse_**

"This is unacceptable!"

"Yes, Boss," Big Joe, said, looking thoroughly unhappy.

"Okay, I can keep an open mind. Who was it this time? Spiderman and Wonder-woman?"

"We don't know Boss, but we think it was that guy who looks like Batman."

"You know, with a mask and a cape and stuff..."

"Thank you Cody – we know!" Big Joe said cutting Cody off. "There might have been a guy dressed in green too, like a soldier."

"So my business is getting fucked up by Batman and G.I. Joe?"

Big Joe just shrugged.

"You've beefed up security, Joe?" D'Amico asked.

"Yes, Boss. There are eight extra men here and six at each of the four, as yet, untouched sites."

"That facility contained millions of dollars' worth. Now the fucking Cops have it," D'Amico seethed. "Who is your best man?"

"The most highly skilled would be Williams – ex British Royal Marine, Boss."

"I may have a job for him – keep him close."

* * *

That bastard, D'Amico, was pure evil – I should never, have gotten myself involved with him.

I looked around the Penthouse. Could be a nice place, but not in the hands of that fucker. Not to mention the man had a young kid only a little bit older than Josh.

Talking of Josh, I had now put him at risk. I hoped that he did not know how low his father had sunk. The boy was all I had left and he was only ten-years-old. I had to get away from D'Amico; it was the only hope for either of us.

Maybe I could get in contact with those, who were currently attacking D'Amico. They seemed to know their business and from what I could see, they were ruthless.

There were not too many people willing to stand up against that bastard, Frank D'Amico.


	15. Opposition

**_The following morning  
Saturday_**

**_The Bennett House_**

We did not get to sleep until well after midnight.

By 'we', I meant the two little girls. Mindy and Chloe must have spent _at least_ two hours giggling together! I was surprised that I had managed to get any sleep at all. I could have sworn that at one stage both were actually running around the room naked – why I had absolutely no idea – must have been a girl thing!

Mindy was enjoying herself; her only friend was Dave, me. I had Marty, but Mindy did not have another female friend. Now she did; she had Chloe.

Dad came over to pick all three of us up just before lunch, and took us to The House. Chloe was coming too, as she would be spending the night.

Another sleepless night, just great!

* * *

**_The House_**

Soon after we got home, we received a call from Joshua begging to come over, as he was bored.

Damon had agreed and about forty minutes later Joshua had arrived. At least that meant that I would not have to put up with two giggling girls all day! We would need to be extra careful, though, to not let the secret out to Josh, as he preferred to be called.

There was one incident, though – Mindy had told Damon about Chloe and her finding out about us.

"You did what?" Damon had demanded and we had heard him from the other side of the house.

Chloe and I had cringed, knowing what was going on.

Josh just looked confused.

* * *

"Did you stop to think?" Daddy demanded in a much quieter, but somehow scarier, voice.

"No Daddy – I'm sorry – Chloe won't tell anybody."

"And how do you know that?"

"I..."

"Exactly! I thought you were cleverer than that, Mindy. Maybe I was wrong!"

That hurt and I could feel tears welling up inside me.

"Baby doll, there are times when you really push things..."

"Daddy, I…"

"It's not your fault; you are still a little girl."

_That_ hurt even more!

"Daddy..."

"Mindy, go play with your little friend and not a word to that other kid with the funny accent!"

* * *

"Tell us about yourself, Joshua."

"Mindy, it's Josh!"

"Okay, Josh – question still stands."

"Not much to tell. As you all know, I am ten and I will be eleven in July. I am British and I moved to the good old US of A, with my Dad last year."

"Okay. What does your Dad do?" Dave asked.

Josh actually looked a little uncomfortable.

"My Dad works for some Mob bastard," Josh explained. "I think his name is Frank."

* * *

**_The D'Amico Penthouse_**

"It is time for us to be on the _offensive,_ not on the _defensive_!" Frank D'Amico almost shouted. "I am taking the fight to these vigilantes. I am going to make it so goddamn unfashionable to be a vigilante that nobody is going to want to be one in this town!"

"How are we going to do that, Frank?" Big Joe asked.

"Fear!"

"Fear?" Cody asked.

"Why do we keep him, Joe?" Frank asked, looking at the unfortunate Cody.

"Keep asking myself that, Frank."

* * *

**_The House_**

I had not known what to say when Josh had mentioned what his father did for a living.

Mindy had looked a little panicked.

"Sounds cool," Chloe, said finally.

"Not really, he hates it!" Josh said, looking unhappy.

"I think we should change the subject," I suggested and Mindy nodded her agreement. Josh seemed somewhat relieved.

We spent the next hour talking about motorcycles and checking out some awesome pictures on the internet. We had discovered something interesting: Josh's Dad worked for Frank D'Amico! Now what could we do with that information?

Would Josh help us?

..._...

After Josh had gone home, and while Chloe and Mindy were giggling over something on the TV, I went to see Damon. I explained everything that Josh had said.

"Well done, Dave!" Damon said a big smile on his face. "Maybe we can make up for Mindy's little lapse."

* * *

**_Two days later  
Monday afternoon_**

Mindy was sweating and out of breath.

We had spent the past hour fighting – and I mean fighting, not sparring! Mindy was not happy with me, but I had finally sorted her out, not to mention that she had a bruise to her left cheek and a nasty bruise developing on her right thigh where I had kneed her.

"I had to tell him; it was important to the mission," I explained, nursing my own bruises.

"Oh, fuck the mission – he is my friend!"

"Mindy, we are not going to hurt him or his father; we just need their help. You know full well that we don't hurt innocents."

"Okay, I suppose you're right as fucking usual! Just, please don't do anything that might hurt Josh."

..._...

Damon had been spying on Josh, along with his Dad, and when Mindy had found out, she had gone ballistic. I had to admit that the fight had been fun and I knew that Mindy would never go too far when fighting between ourselves.

Damon and Dad were _not_ happy when they saw the bruises though; nevertheless, they did see the funny side eventually.

* * *

**_Four weeks later  
Saturday afternoon_**

**_Central Park_**

It was a family gathering.

It was also the first time that we had properly met Paul Williams, Josh's Dad.

While the four adults chatted on a pair of benches, we kids ran about on the grass. Being near to the end of March, it was still cool, so we were well wrapped up against the cold, although with all our running around we quickly warmed up.

As I dumped my jacket with Dad, I heard the topic of the conversation: Mob activities in New York.

..._...

Over the past couple of weeks, something had been happening in New York. Somebody was clamping down on those who fought against crime: specifically, the vigilantes. The Police got their usual stick, but the attention was towards everyday citizens who tried to help. There were a few masked vigilantes about and two had turned up dead with dire warnings pinned to their clothes. Naturally, these warnings had reached the news and had spread across the City, like wildfire.

Neither Dad, nor Damon, were concerned about this other than increasing the need to destroy Frank D'Amico, who was deemed to be behind this increasing activity. Unfortunately, for Frankie-boy, many New Yorkers were not fazed by his anonymous threats. The average talk show on TV and radio were full of people who supported vigilantism. Some decided that, if somebody was going after vigilantes; then those vigilantes were hurting the Mon, so they should continue.

D'Amico's threats had not stopped us going out as Kick-Ass and Hit Girl, along with Eisenhower. Commando and Big Daddy had been out together a few times, too. They accomplished the missions still deemed too dangerous for the two of us.

..._...

So far nobody had let on to Paul Williams that we knew who his employer was, but by the conversation that the adults were having it was clear that none of them, not Paul, nor Cathy Bennett, gave a shit if Frank D'Amico was killed by a vigilante.

Hit Girl and Kick-Ass had also gained some notoriety around town. We were still a mystery and nobody knew who or what we actually were. Oh, there was speculation, an awful lot, too. There were entire websites dedicated to Hit Girl and Kick-Ass. We were the public face, kind of. Commando and Big Daddy never featured and were only legend. Even Eisenhower was famous!

Some of the websites went a little bit far with their speculations. At least three sites were convinced that Hit Girl and Kick-Ass were fucking each other to celebrate their kills! Mindy had been very embarrassed by that insinuation, despite my laughing it off.

Chloe had also seen the sites and when we were together, we talked about certain aspects of what Mindy and I did at night. Damon and Dad even allowed Chloe to start sparring with us, as she had some reasonable Taekwondo skills and was a very fast learner. Most of the time she fought against Mindy, as they were closer in height and weight.

Chloe actually proved useful as it allowed me to improve on my two against one fighting. Both girls positively hated it when I was able to beat them both off me and put them both down, hard. Mindy had nagged Damon to allow Chloe to join us. I did not think that a very good idea, although Dad seemed to be warming to the idea.

That had been the point of the 'family' get together in Central Park. Both Damon and Dad wanted to see what Paul and Cathy thought, and their feelings about vigilantism.

* * *

I was actually impressed by Josh.

He was very energetic and was able to run me down no matter how fast or how far I ran. Despite me being older, his legs were longer than mine were which also helped. I also discovered that the kid was skilled in Taekwondo, as we play fought. That had given me an idea; we would make one hell of a team!

Chloe was a fast runner, too and Dave was continuously chasing her, along with Josh. I had not had so much fun in a long time! Having friends was a completely new experience and a good one, too.

..._...

"Not a fucking chance, Mindy!"

Okay, Daddy was _not_ a fan of my idea!

* * *

**_One week later  
Saturday morning_**

**_Safehouse A_**

Frank D'Amico had crossed the line.

I was seething with rage as I stood at the end of the couch and looked down at my Mindy. She was asleep at that moment; something, for which I was very grateful. When she was awake, she was screaming in pain. Her body was black and blue, from her head all the way down to her feet. I wanted vengeance; nobody was going to stand in my way.

Reluctantly, vengeance would have to wait. I was injured almost as much as Mindy, although she had taken the worst of it. Our suits had protected us and had done their jobs well. I was thankful for Damon's designs; they had saved us both.

..._...

I stared down at the bruises on my legs, arms and chest. I was able to see where each and every, bullet had struck my armour. There were twelve welts across my chest, one for each bullet, not to mention the four on my back. Mindy had fourteen welts on her chest and two on her back. She had done really well, but ultimately it had been too much for her small body to take and she had collapsed.

I looked across the Safehouse at Chloe, who was helping her mother to pack up the medical equipment that she had brought. We had had no choice but to call in medical assistance. Dr Bennett had not commented on the Safehouse, nor who we all obviously were, until Mindy and I had been taken care of.

Cathy had argued with Damon for almost fifteen minutes, but finally they had seen eye to eye and Cathy had agreed to keep everything secret. Dad had thanked her for all her help, but Cathy had refused any money for her services.

So, what had happened?


	16. Down

**_The previous night  
Friday_**

**_Brooklyn_**

I was looking forward to our night out.

I enjoyed the exercise not to mention the time when it was just Mindy and me. Okay, Dad and Damon were always listening to everything that was going on, but it was still good to be together, just the two of us.

We had a set route to patrol, as usual. We had memorised it and if necessary could receive guidance from Commando and Big Daddy. They would constantly move to keep us in sight and provide cover as required.

..._...

As we entered a dark alley, about an hour into our patrol, I spotted something red as it jumped down off a dumpster, landing rather awkwardly.

"Oh shit! Fuck me that kinda hurt!"

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Who the _fuck_ are _you_ supposed to be?" Hit Girl asked, smirking.

"Hi, guys, I'm Red Mist!"

"Red _what_?" Hit Girl chuckled.

"Red _Mist_, purple stuff!" Red Mist replied. "I'm a vigilante, just like you guys!"

"_Nobody_ is just like us!" Hit Girl retorted.

"Hi, I'm Kick-Ass!" I said, shaking hands with the vigilante, who was about my own height.

"I'm Hit Girl!" Hit Girl said somewhat reluctantly.

"Well, just wanted to introduce myself, got work to do – see ya!" Red Mist said as he vanished into the darkness.

"Weird, huh?" I asked Hit Girl.

"Red Mist," Hit Girl mused. "The only 'red mist' that I know of is what a bullet creates when it exits a man's skull!"

* * *

We refocused our minds back onto the patrol; Red Mist could wait for now.

Another hour passed with absolutely no activity. It looked like Friday night was going to be a bust. We had learnt a while ago that not every night was all action and killing. Which was good; we would be wiped out fighting every single night!

Hit Girl on the other hand had other ideas, but that was because she was still young. She thought that she could fight every damn night! I knew better, I knew that girl inside out and top to bottom and I knew that she would give every fight her best, but she was still only ten and therefore her body could only do so much. But you just try telling Mindy that; she would just ignore you and accuse you of talking shit! But that was what made Hit Girl and Mindy who they were.

..._...

We were talking and joking, as usual, but still keeping a watchful eye open for trouble, when we turned into a side street. Everything looked normal until we were fifty yards up the street and then half a dozen men appeared in front of us. All we armed with baseball bats; there were no firearms in evidence.

"This is _not_ good!" I growled.

Big Daddy was not yet in an overwatch position and Commando was a few miles away in the SUV. The men, who were now spread out in front of us, obviously meant business. We turned to find the way we had come blocked by another half a dozen men.

Within a minute all twelve men started walking nonchalantly towards us. Hit Girl prepared her bō-staff and I drew my batons, which were of more use against the baseball bats than my blades.

It was an ambush; we were being attacked well before we were properly ready for anything.

* * *

**_Half a mile to the west_**

Something was happening.

The chatter between the kids had stopped and there was an ominous silence, then my worst nightmare started to come true.

"Krypter! Krypter! Krypter!"

Three words that sent a chill down my spine. Okay, they were words from one of the kid's favourite TV shows, but we used them as panic words for when a situation occurred that was completely out of their control.

In over two years of vigilante activity, the words had never been used when on patrol, not even once. It was the voice of Kick-Ass and he sounded stressed. I was nowhere near to them so was unable to cover them.

"Commando, you copy the call?"

"I got it Big Daddy, I'm on my way!"

Commando was a couple miles away in the SUV.

I started running towards the street where the kids were fighting for their lives.

* * *

I told Hit Girl to stay close to me; we would guard each other's backs.

All we had to do was keep on our feet until help arrived. I knew that my panic words had been received and that help was on its way. However, how long that would be; I had absolutely no idea.

The initial attacks seemed half-hearted as if they wanted to drag out the fight or maybe they were trying to find our weaknesses. We had weaknesses, plenty of them, one of which was our size when faced with fully grown men. However, our limited stature (Mindy hated the words 'small' or 'little') meant that we could move fast and by using nimble footwork we could get ourselves out of trouble and into a better attacking position. That normally worked; especially when not surrounded by overwhelming forces!

The only way we could drag this out was to wound as badly as possible our assailants and if possible put them down. We were too close to use firearms, so we would have to make do with batons and blades to inflict grievous bodily harm.

I used my batons to fend off the bats as they rained down in my direction, which was not easy, but I put all my strength into it. Some of the blows landed on my armour, which absorbed most of the impact; but it still fucking hurt!

I could hear Hit Girl fighting off her own blows and every now and then she would canon into my back as she was forced backwards by the blows. I would brace myself to stop her from pushing us both over.

If either of us lost our footing then were done for!

..._...

After what felt like an hour, but was only mere minutes, I heard Hit Girl cry out as she was kicked backwards and she hit the sidewalk hard. I heard the breath being forced from her lungs over the communications. However, I had my own problems and was unable to go to her aid. We had taken down four of the twelve men, three were dead to strikes from Hit Girl's bō-staff and the other was unconscious, with blood pouring from a head wound. I had swapped one baton for a blade and another man joined the four already on the ground, blood spilling from his chest.

Our actions must have upset the two men closest to me as they each drew a pistol and two large-calibre bullets hit my chest, pushing me back against the wall of the nearest building. I pulled my pistol and replied with two rapid double-taps, dropping both men, as two more men appeared. I rolled forward and swept their feet out from under them and came up, putting a bullet into each head.

I then turned to Hit Girl, who was fighting a large man who towered over her, and by the blood on the man's body, she was winning. I watched as she span and drove a blade of her bō-staff into and across the man's stomach, ripping it open and allowing a couple of yards of intestines to spill out and onto the sidewalk.

I looked around me, ten men were down.

I was exhausted, which meant that Hit Girl must be all but wiped out.

* * *

There were two men left.

I saw Kick-Ass picking himself up off the sidewalk and aiming his pistol at one of the surviving men. I turned to face the other man. I was about to thrust my bō-staff into his stomach when I heard gunfire and saw Kick-Ass knocked to the ground as several bullets hit the front of his armour just as he fired a pair of rounds at the man he had in his sights.

Four more men appeared in the street and started to shoot at us both. I felt bullets hitting my back and saw a man firing at Kick-Ass.

I turned and felt bullets hitting my chest armour and then I felt myself flying backwards.

* * *

The man emptied the remainder of his magazine into Hit Girl's chest and she was blasted backwards.

She collapsed in a heap, not moving.

"Hit Girl!" I yelled; pushing forward and completely severing the head of the man that I was fighting. The severed head span off into the darkness.

I felt bullets hitting my back armour. I turned and fired off several rounds, until my own magazine was empty. In the time it took me to dump the empty magazine and replace it with a full one, I had received several hits to my chest armour.

By the time, my magazine was again empty; all the gunmen were dead. I was in pain, but the adrenalin was keeping me going as I knelt down beside Hit Girl. She was not moving; I felt tears in my eyes as I checked her carotid artery for a pulse.

It was there, strong and steady.

More men started to pour into the street. I braced myself for more fighting, but then the head of the first man exploded, followed closely by the man behind.

* * *

The two bodies dropped to the street.

"Commando move in!"

I targeted the third man and as his head exploded, the remaining men fled the scene. It was total carnage, I could make out nineteen bodies, plus the still form of Hit Girl.

I watched as Kick-Ass stowed his weapons, and then picked up his partner, carrying her away from the scene and to safety. Commando stopped the SUV at the end of the street and Kick-Ass climbed in carrying my obviously injured, daughter.

Minutes later, they were heading back to the Safehouse.

* * *

**_Safehouse A_**

As soon as Dad arrived back at the Safehouse, I insisted on carrying Mindy upstairs and I placed her as gently as I could, on to the couch.

She was still unconscious as I removed her mask. It was then that Damon burst in.

"Mindy!"

"She's okay, pal, just out for the count," Dad said, intercepting Mindy's Dad. "She needs medical treatment."

"We can't…" Damon began.

"Dr Bennett," Dad said simply and Damon nodded.

* * *

**_Forty minutes later_**

"Damon, James – what the hell is going on?"

"Thanks for coming Cathy – it's a long story and explanations can wait, please, its Mindy..." Damon said, visibly disturbed.

Cathy immediately swept over to the couch and knelt down beside the unconscious Mindy.

"Chloe, my bag. Dave help me take off Mindy's suit."

As we removed Mindy's suit, I was appalled by the bruises and welts that became visible on her arms, chest, stomach, back and legs. Cathy asked for things and Chloe passed them from her mother's medical case.

..._...

Almost an hour later, Mindy was stable and sleeping. She had awoken twice and both times, she had been screaming with the pain of her injuries. The first time she had passed out, the second time Cathy had injected her with a sedative.

Next, it was my turn and Cathy went over me, treating my own bruises and welts. I was covered in them, just like Mindy was. Cathy then insisted on giving me a sedative, to help me sleep, which I accepted as I was in a lot of pain, not that I would admit it.

Chloe and her mother had then gone home, with Cathy promising that she would be back in the morning to check on Mindy.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Saturday_**

**_Safehouse A_**

So, that was what had happened.

Cathy was back, as promised, along with Chloe. Cathy checked Mindy over again. Mindy woke up and though not screaming, immediately had tears running down her cheeks.

"Daddy!"

"I'm here child," Damon said, holding his daughter's hand.

"I'm sorry for letting you down, Daddy."

"You did not let me down, little one; you were perfect."

Mindy had fallen asleep again, she was worn out completely. I was still very tired, but I had managed a few hours' sleep thanks to the sedative from Dr Bennett.


	17. But Not Out

**_A week later  
Saturday_**

It had been a week since the ambush.

Damon was beside himself with fury, and for the record, so was Dad. I was angry too, but it was Mindy that seemed to be the most pissed.

Honestly, I had never seen Mindy so angry, not even when I had provoked her. I knew why she was angry too. Part of it was anger at herself for being carried out of there unconscious, the rest was anger at being caught out, in the first place. She was still in pain from her bruises which were starting to fade, thankfully, as were mine. Mindy had initially compared our bruises, and other injuries, before declaring herself the winner for having more!

Cathy and Chloe had been regular visitors, every evening, to check on us both. There had also been an argument between Chloe and her mother.

Chloe wanted to join us as a bad-ass vigilante, but Cathy, of course, had other ideas!

* * *

**_The House_**

"Do you _really_ think I'm stupid?"

Chloe's expression spoke volumes in replying to her Mother's rhetorical question.

That morning the living room was very full.

Dad, Damon and Cathy were seated in the chairs, with us three kids on the couch. Mindy and I were trying to keep out of the argument that was raging. Dad was smirking; I knew he enjoyed arguments, especially between females! Damon just seemed a little bemused by it all.

"Okay, then young lady, let's go through the cons, shall we? Number one: you could get killed. Number two: you could be badly hurt or maimed. Number three: you could be arrested and spend the rest of your life in jail. Number 4: its mass-murder what these people do, Chloe. There are many more cons, I assure you!"

Chloe just stared at her mother.

"What's life without a bit of risk?" She said simply.

Dad laughed and received a, none too friendly, glare from Cathy which he ignored. Cathy then turned on Damon and Dad.

"So which one of you two clowns thought up this life for Dave and Mindy?" Cathy demanded.

Damon looked very uncomfortable and Dad just grinned.

"So it was both of you! Men can be so single-minded – I cannot believe that you two... How long have Dave and Mindy been training for this?"

Damon answered the question.

"Since Mindy was about five and Dave was seven." Damon then took a deep breath before continuing. "Dave made his first kill at ten and Mindy when she was eight. Dave has always been into guns and knives, thanks to the ex-Marine over there; so he helped train Mindy. I had my reasons for starting this crusade and at no time did we lie to the kids and tell them that this was anything other than what it is – we are not treating this like some sort of game, Cathy. The two of them have been active as true vigilantes for two years now and they have acquitted themselves well."

James cut in.

"Last week was unexpected, but they fought their way out of that situation. There isn't exactly a user manual for this, Cathy, so we make mistakes."

Cathy thought this through for a minute before replying.

"You both know that I agree with what vigilantes do – to a point. But these two are so young, it's just ridiculous."

"Err, can I say something, please?" Mindy cut in, much to everybody's surprise, including mine.

"Go ahead, baby doll," Damon said.

"I know that what Dave and I do is illegal, to put it mildly, and I have known that for a number of years. I may only be ten and I made my first kill at eight, but I knew what I was doing and I did it with my own free will. Nobody forced me to do any of what I do as Hit Girl.

"Dave and I are a team. We have known each other for over five years and we know each other's thoughts and fears. We operate as a single unit, out there on the streets thanks to the training that we receive. Yes, we are on a mission of vengeance, but we are also on a mission of good. We need to bring justice to where it is needed."

Now that was one hell of a speech for Mindy! Damon looked very impressed and proud of his daughter. Dad seemed to approve, too.

"A very well thought out speech, Mindy," Cathy said with a smile. "I do believe in what you and Dave do out there on the streets, but..."

"You are worried about your only daughter getting involved?" I chipped in for the first time.

"Yes, Dave, I am."

* * *

**_The D'Amico Penthouse_**

"Chris!"

"Yeah, Dad!"

"What have you been getting up to the past few nights?"

"Nothing, Dad..."

"Your Dad knows when you are lying, boy!"

"Honest Dad, I've just been out playing."

"You know you're not allowed out unless you have a minder."

"Yes, Dad!"

"I know you're twelve and you can be trusted, however, there are some nasty people out there who may want to hurt a boy like you."

"I know, Dad, like those vigilantes?"

"Exactly!"

* * *

**_The following evening  
Sunday_**

**_The House_**

"Why the fuck not, Dave?"

"Mindy, have you seen your body, recently?"

"Yeah and...?"

"You're still covered in bruises, you cannot go out on a motorcycle like that!"

"Who the fuck says I can't?"

"I do – so that is the end of it!" Damon said, loudly.

"Daddy..."

"No, Mindy – you will rest, understand me?"

Mindy looked like she was about to explode, but finally deflated.

"Yes, Daddy."

..._...

No matter what happened to that girl she was always ready to get up and get back into the action. She was a tough young girl, I had to give her that! But we had both taken a beating and if I was in pain, then so was she.

"Come on Mindy, let's go clean some weapons," I said.

Mindy perked up immediately.

"Can you show me how to take down the L86?" She asked excitedly.

"Why the hell not!"

* * *

**_Two weeks later  
Friday night_**

**_Brooklyn_**

"Now keep it steady, Hit Girl!"

"Yes, Big Daddy!"

I grinned. As expected Hit Girl was getting a little ahead of herself! We were both out on our Ducati Hypermotard motorcycles for the first time. Big Daddy was behind us on an all-black, Ducati Diavel. Both of our motorcycles were strictly limited, however Mindy had spent a good ten minutes trying to find, and remove the speed-limiter, before Damon had stopped her. Thankfully, she never found it!

Our bruises had all but vanished and we were back to our normal selves, well as normal as we ever got! Mindy and I had endured full physicals from Cathy to ensure we were one hundred percent and we had passed. Now we could go back out.

Chloe was still bitching about joining us, but Cathy was steadfastly refusing to back down, but Chloe was _not_ giving up!

Tonight, we were out for retribution – it was time to show Frank D'Amico who was boss!

* * *

"Big Daddy, I have him in sight!"

The intention was to scare the fuck out of him, not to kill him; that would have been way too easy and would have let him off. No, we wanted to have some fun, first.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom was armoured to the hilt, but that would not stop us having our fun.

The Rolls-Royce pulled up at a stop light. It was a clear intersection and it was very dark. Commando had overwatch and was armed with a sniper rifle. We each had our instructions and we were to follow them to the letter.

Hit Girl went first, accelerating up from the rear and attaching an explosive device to the side of the engine compartment.

She rapidly accelerated away, across the intersection.

* * *

"What the fuck was that?" Frank D'Amico demanded.

"I have no idea Boss," Paul, Frank D'Amico's bodyguard commented. "It looked like that purple bitch from a few weeks ago."

"You mean the one that we killed?"

"She didn't look dead to me, Boss!"

"No fucking kidding..."

* * *

Commando flipped off the safety and pressed the button.

The peace of the night was rent apart by the explosion, as the device detonated, destroying the 6.8-litre, V-12 engine. The entire blast had been focussed towards the engine bay and the main body of the Rolls-Royce was unmarked, for now. The vehicle was also completely immobilised.

Big Daddy pulled up alongside the Rolls-Royce, on its right-hand side.

"Evening, shit-head!" Big Daddy growled and levelled an AA-12 shotgun at the side window. He started punching out shotgun shells, which we could see sent D'Amico cowering to the floor.

I was covering the left hand side from the rear, to ensure that nobody escaped. Somebody opened the driver's door, but instantly pulled it closed as I fired a dozen rounds from the MP5 sub-machine gun that hung from my shoulder.

This was _so_ cool!

* * *

The sight was awesome.

I was watching from the entrance of an alleyway, just across the intersection. The explosion had been loud, even from where I had been waiting. I could see Big Daddy pumping shell after shell into the Rolls-Royce from the fucking awesome AA-12. Kick-Ass was covering the other side of the vehicle to ensure that nobody escaped.

Vengeance was a bitch on heat!

* * *

The noise was un-fucking-believable!

How long could this go on for? How long would the armour last? The side windows were almost opaque from all the damage. At least the armour was holding and well it should considering how much it had fucking cost!

Then all of a sudden, silence descended on the car. I waited five minutes before gingerly pushing open the side door. There was nobody there, nor did a bullet come screaming through the gap.

I climbed out and examined the remains of the expensive vehicle. It was a wreck, to put it mildly.

Then I stopped cold.

There across the intersection were three masked individuals on motorcycles. The largest, a man in black on a massive black motorcycle waved his hand, before dropping the motorcycle into gear and accelerating away.

The next vigilante, dressed in a green suit, waved as he too accelerated away. The final vigilante, in a purple outfit stared at me, before extending her right arm, followed by her middle finger. She seemed to smile at me, before she then pulled away after the other vigilantes.

The fucking little bitch!


	18. Massing of The Mob

**_Almost two weeks later  
Wednesday_**

In eleven days, Dave would be thirteen-years-old.

I had also noticed that he was changing, he was taller and his voice was starting to sound funny. I thought it was quite funny, the way it squeaked from time to time, however Dave was _not_ amused! He was also becoming a lot more private when we were changing, too; I had yet to work out why.

Our friendly local mobster boss, Frank D'Amico was now travelling in a heavily armed and armoured convoy, everywhere that he went, which made it extremely easy to track him.

I thought that the man had taken his paranoia to the next level and I had enjoyed giving him the finger immensely!

* * *

**_The D'Amico Penthouse_**

"Chris!"

"Yeah, Dad, what's up?"

"I would like you to meet Stu," Frank D'Amico said, pointing at a man who was about as wide as he was tall. "He is going to me your minder. Where you go, he goes! You go for a dump, he holds the toilet paper, understand!"

Chris gave his Dad a strange look and groaned.

"You do not leave this building without Stu, no arguments, not a one!" Frank said sharply to his son before turning on Stu.

"You stick to my son like glue got it; you lose him..."

D'Amico let it hang.

* * *

**_The House_**

Chloe was still bitching!

Only her mother was not here, so whom exactly she was bitching to, I had no fucking idea.

"She can't stop me!" Chloe fumed.

"She can," I commented.

"I hate to say it, but the guy with the squeaky voice is right!" Mindy said with a little laugh.

Chloe tried not to smirk, but failed miserably. The girls thought my voice was funny and 'sometimes cute'! Yeah, it was great fun, puberty!

We had seen Josh twice in the past couple of weeks and each time he had been more and more worried about his father. Apparently, his Boss was causing all sorts of mayhem in the City and his Josh's Dad was concerned about both his and Josh's safety.

D'Amico was up to something and I had a nasty feeling that this something was something big. Dad had talked about letting on to Paul Williams that we knew all about his Boss and that we were out to kill Frank D'Amico. It would be great if we could have a mole in D'Amico's organisation.

The other thing that was also a growing concern was the new vigilante, Red Mist. Who was he? What was he doing in New York? We had come across him three times, since the first meeting. Damon had tried to find out who he was, but as yet had had no success. We would just have to deal with him, once he had shown his true colours, whatever they happened to be.

All our training had been for this. We were now fighting the man that had destroyed Mindy's life and affected my own, from a remote point of view. We had out the fear of God into him, so far and he was reacting to us, which was what we wanted.

However, how far would Frank D'Amico go for revenge?

* * *

"Dave."

"Yeah, Mindy."

"Are we going to defeat Frank D'Amico?"

"Mindy, I promise you, Frank D'Amico is going to die. If I have my way he will be dead long before you reach your eleventh birthday."

Mindy stood there for a moment before launching forwards and hugging me.

"I love you Dave and I always want us to be together, no matter what."

"I love you too, Mindy, and we will always be together. Nothing will break us apart and most definitely not Frank fucking D'Amico."

* * *

**_The following night  
Thursday_**

**_A dark and not so safe part of Brooklyn_**

"I'm telling you the fuckin' truth, man!"

"I don't believe you!"

"Why the fuck, would I lie to you?"

"Because you are fucking scum!"

"I agree with you, one hundred percent! Look I hate D'Amico, but he's takin' over and like, there's nobody else to work with," The man said, trembling before the black clad form who stood before him.

The man was beyond scared; he had pissed himself ten minutes previously. He was telling the truth, though.

* * *

The spineless little worm was right.

Frank D'Amico was expanding his domain. He had attacked and absorbed most of his competitors. D'Amico was almost the biggest force in New York, previously. He _was_ now the biggest in New York and he had started a fucking turf war. Now, just whom do you think he was blaming for all of this? Us!

Now, we were New York's number one targets for every criminal out there and we had a price on our heads! It was a good price, too; I was actually tempted to hand _myself_ in!

"Daddy, that doesn't even make sense!" Mindy said looking confused when I had mentioned it.

"So, we have most of the city after us, what next?" James asked.

"We keep pounding the fucking bastard!" Mindy growled.

* * *

**_The following night  
Friday_**

**_North Brooklyn_**

"We go on three!"

Hit Girl nodded at me. On three, we dropped off the parapet at that top of the building and abseiled down the north side. Four stories down, we stopped either side of a large, floor to ceiling, window. We were still six stories up and it was cold and very dark.

Despite this, the room in question was brightly lit and had several people in it. They were all gunmen and they were there to guard the men in the next room, from the likes of us! I reached over and gently attached a small sucker-type device to the glass. Connected to his was a small metal arm, which terminated in a diamond cutter. I turned this several times, until the glass popped out and I gently placed it onto the window ledge.

"You sealed up?" I asked Hit Girl.

"All sealed up, Kick-Ass!" She responded.

We were both wearing gas masks, which fitted securely over our masks. I pulled a rubber-covered device out of a pouch on my utility belt and snapped it in half before shoving it through the small hole that I had cut in the glass. It should just take a couple of minutes.

We both watched the men, as they all started to seem light-headed and a couple sat down, before one by one they all passed out. I reached in via the same hole, slipped the window catch, and pulled it open. My partner went first, instantly checking the room to ensure that there was no danger and then heading for the double doors that led to the next room.

"The target room is ready for assault; all are seated at the table. There are two security men on your right as you enter," Big Daddy announced from his overwatch position, five hundred meters away.

I followed Hit Girl and we both paused behind the doors to prepare ourselves and remove our gasmasks.

"Time to move!" Big Daddy called and we heard breaking glass and then a falling body, followed by the same again as Big Daddy dropped both security men. We pushed through the doors with our pistols up and aimed at the four men who were seated at a large oval table in the centre of the room.

..._...

"Sorry to barge in, like this, but we have some question for you," I growled as menacingly as possible.

"Hello, kiddies!" One man at the table said with a chuckle.

Hit Girl shot him between the eyes.

"Next funny bastard may now speak!" Hit Girl growled.

Nobody said a word. The men in front of us were D'Amico's lieutenants and we wanted information. Over the next hour, we obtained it. Unfortunately, there were no survivors and cleaning the carpet would be a hell of a job!

We returned to the other room and connected ourselves back up to the ropes and abseiled down to the ground and jumped into the waiting SUV.

"Hi, Commando!" Hit Girl said happily.

* * *

**_The House_**

"Well done, both of you!" Damon commented as we both sat down in the living room after both having taken a shower.

"Thanks, Damon!"

"Yeah, thanks, Daddy!"

"You both got a lot of important information, which will help in our fight, now get to bed the both of you and go straight to sleep!"

* * *

**_Brooklyn_**

"Fuck, my head hurts!"

"Join the fucking club!"

"What the fuck happened?"

"How long were we out?"

"Over a fucking hour, by the looks of it!"

"Oh, fuck – get in here guys!"

..._...

The scene in the next room was enough to make someone sick.

Blood was everywhere and there were six dead bodies, two from large calibre bullets to the head; obviously, a sniper, by the two corresponding bullet holes in the window. There were four more bodies, one with a small round in the head, between the eyes.

The other three bodies were covered in blood from numerous lacerations and each had bullet holes in their skulls.

"I have had enough of this fucking shit! I did not sign up for this crap!"

"Valid point, Sal, but what can we do?"

"I'm fuckin' out of here, Paul, I've fucking had it and I'd recommend the same to you, pal!"

* * *

**_Two days later  
Sunday_**

**_The D'Amico Penthouse_**

D'Amico was furious.

"Joe, what the fuck happened?"

"We're still piecing it together, Frank. Sal seems to have gone missing; the guys were knocked out, like gas or something, Big Joe tried to explain.

"Four good men killed! Those bastards are ripping the fucking heart out of what I have created!" Frank growled.

"We'll get 'em, Frank, they can't last forever!"

* * *

**_The House  
That night_**

"I'm really scared for Dad."

"How come, Josh?" Mindy asked.

"He came home, very late on Friday night and head was spinning. He muttered something about being gassed!" Josh explained.

Mindy looked at me with a grimace and then back at Josh.

"Gassed?"

"I'm not supposed to know this, but I overheard Dad on his mobile, he was talking to some guy called, Big Joe. Apparently, they were attacked by vigilantes and six men were killed; note I said 'killed' and not 'murdered', as I believe they got everything that they deserved!" Josh continued. "I just don't want anything to happen to my Dad."

..._...

Once Josh had gone, Mindy and I went to see Damon.

"What's up kids?"

"We've got to get Josh's Dad out of there – we almost killed him the other night!" Mindy said.

"Leave it to me. I'll set something up," Damon promised.


	19. Saving Josh

**_One week later  
Sunday_**

**_The House_**

"Happy Birthday, Champ!"

"Thanks, Dad!"

I took the large present and stared at it.

"Well open it, already!" Mindy said and she seemed much more excited than I was.

The present was very heavy and between two and three feet in length. I had a distinct idea what it might have been and I started to get as excited as Mindy, who right then was bouncing up and down on her chair!

I pulled off the wrapping paper and found a stout cardboard box. I opened the cardboard box and found a large black, plastic box. I lifted it out and placed it gently onto the table. The plastic was standard, injection-moulded ABS. There was no labelling, but I unclipped the two plastic clips and opened the case.

"Fucking wow!" Mindy exclaimed, unable to keep quiet any longer.

It was a brand new, Heckler &amp; Koch G36C assault rifle. The weapon was chambered in NATO 5.56-millimetre and that example was fitted with a combination laser/flashlight mounted beneath the barrel and a telescopic sight on the top of the weapon. In the case, along with the rifle, was a cleaning kit, four empty thirty-round magazines and a short sound suppressor.

I could tell that Mindy was very jealous!

"It's from Damon and me," Dad explained.

"Thanks, Dad and you Damon. It's awesome!"

* * *

I watched as Dave wandered off, closely followed by Mindy.

He was carrying his new weapon and was no doubt about to strip it down and check the weapon from muzzle to stock. Mindy would watch and absorb every move that Dave made.

The weapon was a very good choice.

* * *

**_Two days later  
Tuesday_**

**_A dark street in Brooklyn_**

"Who the fuck are you?"

"A friend that wants to help."

"Help? How the bloody hell would you want to help me?" Paul Williams demanded as he was dragged into an alley.

"We know who you work for and we know that you are very keen to leave," I growled. "We can help you, there."

"My first question still stands."

"You can call me, Commando."

We talked for over forty minutes.

"Tell your son to keep a bag packed, at all times."

"Just promise me that the boy will be kept safe, if anything happens to me."

"I promise, Paul."

* * *

**_Near Brooklyn Bridge_**

"Joshua, if anything happens to me, people may come for you; they may try to kill you. Trust the vigilantes if they come," Paul Williams told his son. "Please trust them, they will look after you."

"I will Dad," Josh replied. "But nothing is going to happen to you!"

"Joshua, I love you, I really do, but there is no way that I can escape from this."

* * *

**_Three days later  
Friday_**

**_The House_**

We knew where Frank D'Amico was to be spending the weekend.

The plan was to attack D'Amico and harass him as before. We also wanted to get Paul out, intact and uninjured if possible. The bastard was keeping tabs on all of his foot-soldiers. Paul Williams knew that he was being watched and his training also told him that his apartment was probably being bugged. I just hoped that we weren't too late.

Hit Girl and I were staying in the City, ready to pull out Josh, if required. We knew that if we moved too early, it would compromise Josh's Dad.

We headed for the Safehouse.

* * *

**_The Hamptons_**

We were in position by eight that evening.

It was dark and the two of us were hidden in dense undergrowth. Big Daddy would perform overwatch, while I caused as much mayhem as possible and attempted to pull Paul Williams out. The kids were eighty miles away in the City. This would be the first time that we had left the pair of them to fend for themselves, as there was absolutely no way that we could get back to help them in time, if it was required.

Towards eight-thirty, we received a simple text message.

'THEY ARE ON TO ME'

It was from Paul Williams.

It was time to make our move, ready or not.

* * *

**_The D'Amico Mansion_**

"We have a traitor, Frank, and he's with us right now!" Big Joe said, hanging up his cell and drawing his pistol.

"If I go down, then so does that bloody wanker!"

Paul Williams raised his Glock and fired six rapid rounds towards Frank D'Amico. Three bullets dug deep into the Mob Boss' left thigh, spinning him around as the other three bullets entered the right side of D'Amico's chest.

Big Joe levelled his own weapon and fired at Paul as he ran out of the room. Then the window exploded inwards and Commando made his entrance.

* * *

I had seen Paul vanish out the door.

There had been no way to communicate with him, so I put a bullet into the big cunt and ran after Paul, smashing a gunman unconscious as I went past. Just as I left the room, I heard a chilling exchange that I was glad Paul had not heard.

"That traitorous bastard has a son!" D'Amico breathed through the pain. "Kill him!"

"I have men already there, Boss!" Another voice called.

..._...

Paul was returning the fire of some of D'Amico's men and I could hear Big Daddy in my ear as he relocated closer to my position. I fired several rounds from my Heckler and Koch G36K assault rifle, dropping two men and Paul got the third.

I ran up to him and could see the red stain, blossoming on his shirt.

"You hurt badly?" I growled at the man.

"Just a bloody scratch; now let's get the fuck outta here!" The ex-Royal Marine replied, ignoring the pain.

We pushed through the building towards the side entrance, just as we got there we found a man standing at the open door and he fired a dozen rounds from his Glock pistol, before his head exploded.

"Exit is clear!" Big Daddy called.

Paul seemed to be flagging, but I dragged him out of the building and we both ran across the grass towards our transport and safety.

* * *

**_Near Brooklyn Bridge_**

"Open the fucking door, Joshua!" Hit Girl yelled, banging on the apartment door.

There was no response, but the door swung open on its own accord. I pushed inwards with Hit Girl covering me. A door to our right flew open and a gunshot rang out, striking Hit Girl in the chest and shoving her backwards.

"Fucking hell!" Hit Girl growled, levelling her pistol.

"Who the fucking hell are you?" Josh asked, still aiming the pistol at Hit Girl.

"No time for questions; grab your shit and let's move!"

"How do I know that you aren't like him?" Josh demanded pointing at a dead body on the living room floor. It was obviously one of D'Amico's men sent to kill Josh. The man had a single gunshot to his chest.

"You need to trust us, we're here to take you to safety!" I insisted.

"Bugger that; I don't know you two! I'm waiting for Dad; I'm not going _anywhere_ till he gets back!"

"Fuck!" Hit Girl growled and seized hold of Josh. "Do you recognise my voice?"

Hit Girl was speaking in her normal voice, but so quietly that only Josh and our comms could hear. I saw realisation dawn on his face and then Josh opened his mouth to say something.

"Say my name out loud, cunt and I'll cut your fucking balls off!" Hit Girl growled.

"What the bloody hell? Err, right!" Josh shoved the Glock pistol into the waistband of his trousers and grabbed his pack.

..._...

I turned to open the front door, but froze; I could hear voices in the corridor, outside. There was a knock on the door; I quickly peered through the spyhole.

It was a group of D'Amico goons, all armed with shotguns or sub-machine guns. I waved Josh to get down and to his credit, the kid responded immediately and dived to the floor. Hit Girl pulled around the Heckler &amp; Koch MP5K submachine gun from her back and levelled it at the door. There was another knock on the door.

"Open the door, you little bastard, before we kick it open!"

I pulled open the front door.

"Howdy, cunts!" Hit Girl growled and opened fire, dropping the four men gathered outside the door before they could do more than gasp. I ran out, aimed my G36C and fired two shots, dropping the final pair as they ran away from me, down the corridor.

Hit Girl was behind me, with Josh between us. We ran along the corridor and then down the fire-stairs to the back door that we had come in by.

..._...

We ran the quarter-mile to where our motorcycles were hidden.

"You get on, with Kick-Ass!" Hit Girl said, pushing Josh towards my motorcycle.

I climbed on and steadied the motorcycle for Josh. He was shaking as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Hang on tight!" I advised as I started the engine and moved off, followed by Hit Girl.

We shot out of the alley where we had hidden the motorcycles and narrowly avoided a black SUV that was pulling out of the loading bay of Josh's apartment building.

The driver started to shoot at us, but his aim was appalling. Hit Girl skidded to a halt and levelled her MP5K and emptied the entire fifteen-round magazine into the SUV. She must have caught the driver as the SUV clipped a parked car and span out of control before slamming onto the side of a building.

Nobody climbed out of the wreckage.

* * *

**_Safehouse A_**

We pushed Josh into the Safehouse and then onto a couch.

The boy was still very confused, which was expected.

To avoid a tail we had driven around in circles for thirty minutes. We had received a call from Commando saying that they were inbound with Josh's Dad and that they had called in Dr Bennett to meet us at the Safehouse.

The mention of Dr Bennett was ominous.

Mindy and I pulled off our masks and Mindy smiled at Josh to reassure him. Before we had had a chance to do much else, the door buzzed and Mindy let Dr Bennett and Chloe into the Safehouse.

"They're not back yet," Mindy said to Cathy.

Chloe sat down with Josh and he turned to her.

"You don't seem surprised to see Dave and Mindy dressed up as vigilantes!" Josh challenged.

"Chloe worked out our secret a few weeks ago," Mindy explained.

"But you could _not_ tell _me_!" Josh sounded angry.

"We need to protect our identities, Josh and we can have this argument another day," I said.

Twenty minutes later, they were back.

..._...

Paul Williams was unceremoniously dropped onto a couch.

"Dad!" Josh shouted and ran over to his father.

"Cathy, he's hurt!" Dad announced, appearing from under his mask.

Damon looked pissed as he removed his own mask.

I watched as Cathy pushed Paul backwards on the couch and started to pull away the sodden shirt. There was a lot of blood. Cathy poked around a bit and then when Josh was looking at his father, she shook her head slowly as she looked at Dad.

* * *

The man should already have been dead, but he had hung on, just so he could see his son one last time.

I knew there was nothing that Cathy, nor anybody else for that matter, could have done. I had seen enough wounds in my time. Josh was holding his father's blood stained hands and sobbing.

"Josh, you are going to stay with Damon and James; they will look after you. Do whatever they say. They will train you..."

"No Dad, you are _not_ going to die!" Josh almost shouted.

"I am already dead, Joshua, but I had to see you one last time."

"NO!"

"Promise me, Joshua. Promise me that you will follow their instructions as if they were mine..."

"Please, no..."

"Joshua, you are my son and I love you. I have faith in you to go on and grow into a young man with the skills to survive longer than I have. I hope you will learn from Dave and Mindy, too."

"Dad, I..."

"Promise me!"

Josh's voice was quivering as he responded.

"I promise that I will obey and follow their instructions as if they were your own."

There was no reply from Paul Williams.


	20. Fitting In

**_Friday Night_**

**_Safehouse A_**

Josh dissolved into sobs.

Mindy went forward and held his hand tightly. I knew what the boy was going through; it had only been two months since one of my own parents, my mother, had died, but at least I still had Dad; Josh had nobody.

The three adults were conversing quietly in the corner of the Safehouse. Then James came over and pulled Josh up to his feet. Damon turned to Mindy and me.

"Both of you, get out of those suits and get ready to go home," He said quietly.

Mindy made to ask a question but I grabbed her arm and dragged her into the bedroom.

"Questions later, Mindy. Just get changed."

Mindy did as she was told and within minutes we had hung our combat suits up and stowed our weapons. We were dressed and ready to go a couple of minutes later.

..._...

"Cathy is going to take the three of you back to The House. Damon and I will follow, later on. Josh, you will please go with Dave and Mindy. I know it will be difficult, but please try to get some sleep. Dave, you are in charge," Dad said. "Mindy, not a fucking word!"

"What about Dad?" Josh asked, staring at his father.

"James and I will make sure he is safe," Damon said resting his hand on the ten-year-old boy's shoulder.

Josh seemed undecided; nevertheless, he turned and followed Mindy who was heading out the door with Cathy and Chloe.

* * *

**_The House_**

"Keep a good eye on Josh, Dave," Cathy said, as she dropped us off.

"Mom, can I...?"

"No, Chloe, you are coming home with me!" Cathy interrupted. "Not by choice, either!"

"Thanks, Cathy," I said, waving goodbye.

..._...

Mindy grabbed Josh's hand and pulled him into the house.

Josh seemed very lost. I ensured that the front door was locked securely and then led Josh upstairs. In my bedroom I had a mattress under my bed, which I pulled out for Josh. He had not stayed the night, before, only Chloe had. I found him a sheet, pillow and a duvet and left him to get undressed.

"He is not going to be sleeping well," I commented to Mindy.

"I don't blame him," Mindy replied darkly.

..._...

When I returned to my bedroom, Josh was sitting on the mattress. He was gazing into infinity. I had been there, only two months previously, only then I had been twelve and not ten. To compound the problem, Josh was parentless and in a foreign country. I quickly undressed and climbed into bed.

"You need anything, Josh, you wake me or Mindy in the room next door," I said quietly.

"Thanks, Dave," Josh said, lying down as I turned the light out.

* * *

**_Early the next morning  
Saturday_**

**_The House_**

I awoke to find Josh gone.

It was still dark. I jumped out of bed and went looking for him. I looked in on Mindy; she was fast asleep. I went downstairs and hearing voices, I entered the living room and found Dad and Josh. Damon soon appeared from the kitchen.

"Hi, kid."

I nodded at Damon and then at Dad and Josh.

"Sorry, Dave; I couldn't sleep and I heard your Dad coming in," Josh said shyly.

"No problem, Josh," I said, waving it off.

"We were just chatting, son. Take him back up to bed."

"Night, Dad."

* * *

My mind was reeling, but everybody was being so nice, which made a big difference.

It still hadn't properly sunk in yet. Part of me knew that Dad was dead, while another part of me refused to believe it. I was alone in the world and in a strange country. At least I had friends.

Talking of friends, I had also found out that my two best friends were famous vigilantes!

..._...

I must have fallen asleep as I suddenly awoke with a start.

There was light streaming through the curtains. Dave was still asleep, but I could hear movement from the room next door.

I needed to talk to somebody and Mindy would have to do.

* * *

I was awake.

I couldn't sleep any longer so I started doing some push ups. I heard a gently tapping on the door and stood up. It had to be Josh; Dave never knocked, but then neither did I.

"You don't need to knock," I said as I pulled the door open.

Josh looked embarrassed, so I dragged him into my room.

"What's up?" I asked, trying to sound upbeat.

"Yesterday... I... I killed..."

Okay... I pushed Josh onto the end of my bed and sat down at the other end.

"You killed a man, at your apartment," I said matter-of-factly. "I know; I saw the body."

Josh gaped at me.

"You can't just write off killing a man like that, Mindy!" Josh was aghast.

"Normally, no. However, in our line of work, you do."

"You mean when you are Hit Girl?" Josh asked rhetorically.

"Yes, as Hit Girl, I have killed people. I killed four men protecting you, last night," I reminded Josh.

"I've never killed before."

"There's a first time for everything!"

"Well you and Dave at least saved my life, but..."

"I know, nobody could save your Dad," I said feeling really bad for Josh.

"I wish I had met you guys months ago and then maybe..."

"Josh, hindsight fucking sucks. Don't try to second guess yourself or play the 'what if' game."

"Why not?"

"It just makes the despair even worse. Do you know how many times I lie awake at night saying 'what if'?" I said forcefully. "What if my Mom had never died? What if Daddy had given in to Frank D'Amico? What if I had had a Mom?"

I felt tears in my eyes and I could see tears in Josh's, too.

"Mindy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"Life sucks, Josh, but all we can do is try to make the world a better place. That is what Dave and I do, as Kick-Ass and Hit Girl. We just want to keep this City safe and remove those that the law overlooks."

"So how about it, Josh – you want to join us?"

* * *

What the fuck just happened?

Did Mindy just invite me to join them and become a vigilante? Well, I had nowhere else to go and getting revenge on that bastard D'Amico...

"So you like the idea?" Mindy said smirking, reading my expression correctly.

I smirked back.

"Well if you can do it..."

"Hey watch it!" Mindy growled ominously. "You have a fucking long haul ahead of you before you get into our league, ass!"

..._...

"So when do I start?"

Mindy stood up and motioned for me to do the same.

"Hit me!" Mindy said simply.

"But... You're a girl!"

Mindy grinned and then slapped me across the face!

"Why the hell?"

She slapped me _again_!

"Act like a bitch, get slapped like a bitch!"

Mindy was laughing. So I punched her, hard.

"Fucking ouch!" Mindy said from the floor, rubbing her rather red cheek.

"What are you doing on the floor, Mindy?" Dave asked standing in the doorway.

"Josh punched me!"

"Well done, Josh!" Dave chuckled. "Put the girl in her place!"

"Fucking assholes!" Mindy shouted, getting back to her feet.

* * *

By the time we got down to the kitchen, Damon was cooking breakfast.

He looked at Mindy. "Walked into a door?" He asked with a chuckle.

Mindy scowled in response, but said nothing.

"Josh hit her," I advised Damon with a smile.

"Hit Girl getting bullied, oh dear!" Damon chuckled sarcastically.

"She did hit me first," Josh said. "Twice!"

"Well you shot me, last night, asshole!" Mindy countered.

"Sorry about that!" Josh said, blushing slightly.

"You're actually a good shot," Mindy said.

"Thanks, I learnt from the best," Josh, added.

* * *

**_Later that morning_**

I was in the shower when I heard a voice.

"You ready, yet – it's time to head out," Mindy said, sticking her head around the shower curtain.

"A bit of privacy, Mindy!"

I glared, as Mindy looked me up and down.

"Dave's bigger!" She said and vanished.

* * *

**_Safehouse A_**

I followed Dave and Mindy into their vigilante Safehouse.

The couch was still there, but my father's body was not.

"Josh, over here," Dave said, waving me to a room with a large metal door.

Beside the door was a keypad. Dave punched in a code and pulled the door open. Mindy pushed me through the door.

"Cool!" I exclaimed as I looked around the walls of the armoury.

Dave and Mindy picked up their own weapons and carried them out of the armoury and to a table. I saw the Glock pistol that I had used at the apartment and had brought with me.

"Bring it, we're cleaning our weapons; you can too," Dave said.

..._...

I stripped the Glock 17 and borrowed a cleaning kit from Dave. I noticed Mindy watching every move, even though she was stripping down her own H&amp;K MP5K.

"I'm impressed, Josh," Mindy said. "You seem to know what you are doing."

"Thanks, Mindy."

"Not many people get compliments from Mindy!" Damon commented walking past with his enormous sniper rifle.

I looked over at Mindy.

"Did you really mean what you said, earlier?"

"About joining us?"

"Yeah."

"You are welcome to join us, Joshua. I can promise you the same training as these two brats!" Damon said.

"Hey!" Mindy exclaimed indignantly.

"Would I get a fancy combat suit?" I asked hopefully.

"I did a couple of sketches last night, come and look," Damon said.

I followed Damon and he showed me some paper sketches of a combat suit that looked very similar to that which Kick-Ass wore except that the suit was a combination of firebrick red and flame red and not so bulky.

"Hey, what's with the blue combat suit?" I asked, noticing another sketch. "Isn't that for a girl? I though Mindy wore purple."

"Oh, that idea is _not_ for Mindy!"

* * *

**_The following day  
Sunday_**

It was payback time!

"Hi, Mindy!"

"Hey, ass!" Mindy shouted. "What about _my_ privacy?"

"Just returning the favour – with a twist!" I chuckled, leaving Mindy to her shower.

There was a pause.

"Hey! What do ya mean by that?" Mindy's, worried voice called out.

I reached over the top of the shower curtain and tipped a large glass filled with a gloopy, purple mixture into the water flow.

There was another pause, then an exclamation.

"_YOU FUCKING BRITISH TWAT! YOU ARE SO FUCKING DEAD!_"

Dave appeared seconds later.

"What's she screaming at now?" He asked.

I pulled back the shower curtain.

Dave burst out laughing.

Mindy was dark purple from head to toe!

I joined Dave in the laughter.

"You're gonna fit in well, around here my British friend!" Dave said.

"Laugh it up, fuckers!"


	21. The Shadow and The Firestorm

**_Five weeks later  
Wednesday_**

**_The House_**

Things were very different.

I had learnt that Joshua was _not_ a pushover, despite being British. Okay, the purple thing had been amusing, but it had been a total pain in the fucking ass to remove and Daddy had laughed about it for over a week, which was _very_ annoying!

To all intents and purposes Josh was now my brother, in a manner of speaking, at least that is how I treated him. Josh seemed to have been taught a lot of skills by his father and although they were only the rudimentary basics, Daddy and James had helped him develop these skills and he could now fight me or Dave and inflict pain.

Sophia seemed very pleased that Josh was now living with us and enjoyed having somebody else to play with.

..._...

We were still looking to sort out a room for Josh. For now he was still sleeping on the floor in Dave's room. Speaking of Dave, I had learnt a few more things about my best friend. It had taken me a while to notice that there were always empty boxes of tissues in his bedroom and it wasn't until I went to pick up a discarded wad of tissues from his floor that my hand came away all sticky and I kind of freaked out.

I was fully clued up, on the 'facts of life' and knew immediately what the gooey substance probably was, not to mention where it had probably come from! I vowed never to touch _anything_ that I found on Dave's floor – ever. I had washed it off my hand immediately and called Dave a 'disgusting motherfucker'; he had just laughed.

"But I thought we shared everything?" Dave had asked innocently.

"You want my fist, asshole!" I had responded, without thinking.

"Nah, I can do it myself, thanks!" Dave had replied deadpan.

It had taken me a minute to catch on and I had felt my face getting very hot. I just scowled and did my best to ignore the howls of laughter that came from Daddy. Daddy had then gone on to explain that it was all perfectly natural and a part of boys growing up. I knew that boys always played with themselves, but going as far as that was just plain disgusting and just don't get me started on Dave's internet browsing history! Some of the things I saw made me want to scratch my own eyes out. I also found out that 'a nice pair of bazookas' did _not_ mean what I had expected it to!

..._...

Chloe. Chloe had been cleared by her Mom to start training with us. Cathy had said that Chloe could train and that Chloe would either kill herself or be killed by her father when he found out what she was doing. Chloe, though, did not care and enjoyed being shown the ropes, so to speak, and picked things up very fast, which was annoying. She was the youngest among us and tended to be an annoying little brat at times, but that was life. Dave actually commented that it was nice to have a _new_ little brat, meaning that Chloe had replaced _me_.

I received so little respect!

..._...

In two weeks, Josh was going to be eleven. Daddy had a big surprise for his birthday planned. As far as becoming a vigilante went, Josh had already made his first kill, out of necessity. The kid could shoot really well, as I had found out to my cost. Dave had trained both Chloe and Josh on various weapons, some of which Josh had already been familiar with. One surprise had been Josh's fondness for throwing knives, more specifically the Fairbairn-Sykes Commando knife. Josh was lethal with the things and could repeatedly hit the same point on a target with them; that actually made me jealous, so I started learning to use the knives, but I was not as good as Josh. He had larger hands than me and could handle the large knives better, so I just stuck with my smaller throwing blades and ninja stars.

I felt sorry for Josh and his Dad's funeral had not been fun! Nevertheless, the boy fitted in very well, despite the fact that he enjoyed winding me up and we had fought plenty of times resulting in bruises and some blood. But it was good training. I had tried my 'hit me' trick on Chloe, but the bitch had just hit me and it had fucking hurt!

We had not stopped going out on the streets, only it was just Hit Girl and Kick-Ass, with the occasional outing for Eisenhower. Frank D'Amico was still alive, annoyingly, however Josh was proud of his father for putting D'Amico into a private hospital for the past five weeks and he was expected to stay there for another few months!

Things had calmed down on the streets without D'Amico's direct attention. Since Frank had left the City, we had seen a lot more of that other vigilante, Red Mist. We had met up and chatted a little. He seemed to hate criminals as much as we did, however he generally avoided talking about Frank D'Amico, which was weird.

* * *

**_Saturday night_**

We were out on the streets again.

This time we were on foot with our pal, Eisenhower. We kept to the shadows, Kick-ass was holding Eisenhower's leash, as he was stronger than I was and could control her much more easily than I could.

We had been out about an hour when Eisenhower started to growl. Over the past two and a half years, we had learnt to trust Eisenhower's instinct for trouble. We instantly went on guard, checking out the area around us.

Eisenhower's nose was working and she looked into the dark shadows a dozen yards away. That was where the trouble was going to be coming from and from the shadows, it did. A man came out of the darkness.

"A fucking ninja?" Hit Girl growled.

The man wore black and carried a large Katana. He started to weave it in threatening movements. I saw that Hit Girl did not look amused as then man waved us forwards; he was grinning.

"Fuck this!" I snarled drawing my Walther and shooting the man in the chest, twice. He went down hard and I holstered my pistol.

We both moved towards the man, but Eisenhower was still snarling. A second later, I realised why as the man sprang to his feet and launched toward us, Katana raised. We wore armour so why should he not? Lesson learnt!

I dropped the leash, drew my blades and launched forward as Hit Girl brandished her bō-staff beside me. We had never fought a ninja before and this man was skilled and fought with a very sharp and lethal blade. We circled and every time the man drove toward one of us, the other would strike. The man seemed to sense us approaching and spin thus forcing us onto the defensive.

Hit Girl was very close to being caught at one stage, when the point of the sharp sword almost cut her stomach, she faltered, but the blade had obviously missed. We were doing our best to coordinate our attacks over the comms. Finally, we gained our opening, we both struck together, and I drove both of my blades into the man's left side and directly into his heart.

The man dropped his sword and fell to the street noiselessly.

Where the fuck, had he come from?

He carried no identification, but we grabbed the Katana and accompanying Saya, before Hit Girl decided to call it a night.

This change was a concern.

* * *

**_Safehouse A_**

"Well done, kids!" Damon said. "Nice souvenir!"

Mindy passed the Katana to her father and then vanished into the bedroom to change. I followed a minute or two later and found Mindy standing in the middle of the bedroom, her suit on the floor. She was still wearing her t-shirt and knickers, but just standing there.

"What's up, Mindy?" I asked, as she had not moved.

She slowly turned around to face me. Her t-shirt was red with blood and she had it pulled up so I was able to see her stomach; there was a red line from one side to the other.

The Katana had penetrated her suit below her chest plate.

"Dave!" Mindy muttered as tears spilled down her cheeks and she collapsed to the floor.

"Damon!" I yelled.

* * *

**_Two weeks later  
Saturday_**

**_Safehouse A_**

It was Joshua's eleventh birthday.

Initially he had been a little sad, as his Dad was not there, but we all got together to help make the day happy for him. Cathy and Chloe were over and Damon was revealing his new toys.

..._...

Josh appeared from the bedroom, only he was not 'Josh' any longer.

"Please meet the latest vigilante to hit the streets of New York: Firestorm!" Damon announced happily.

The suit was colourful to put it mildly! The suit looked very similar to that which Kick-Ass wore except that the suit was a combination of various vibrant reds and not so bulky. Firestorm carried a pair of Glock 26 pistols, one on each hip and three Fairbairn-Sykes Commando knives that were mounted on his chest armour.

He had shown an affinity for blades, so Daddy had produced a pair of two-foot long combat Wakizashi swords that had sixteen-inch blades. These would be mounted on Firestorms back once he was finished training with the lethal blades.

Josh was a few inches taller than I was and the suit made him seem even bigger. Did I feel intimidated? Yes, I did and that was good.

..._...

Now Cathy had made it clear that Chloe was _not_ going out on to the streets until she was ten, as an absolute minimum. Daddy had agreed to this but that had not stopped us from getting the young girl her own suit and identity.

"Chloe, I know it is Josh's birthday, but we have present for you too," James said and Chloe smiled broadly. She looked up at her Mom.

"Don't look at me, girl!" Cathy said, feigning ignorance.

* * *

**_Thirty minutes later_**

A very uncharacteristically shy Chloe appeared from the bedroom, with a smirking Mindy.

She was wearing a navy-blue suit made up of a two-piece bodysuit, lined with Kevlar. She wore a very light Type I set of body armour in the form of a black chest and back plate, which, in time would be upgraded when she could handle the weight and when she started to go out operationally. For her face, she wore a dark blue domino mask.

"This is _so_ cool!" Chloe grinned as she twirled in front of a mirror.

For now, Chloe had no weapons, but once we had trained her up, then we would issue her some weapons. Mind you, I was aware that Chloe was very good with a bow and arrow, so that may be something to look towards as a primary weapon for her.

Once we had decided on her weapons, we would adapt her suit accordingly.

"Daddy, who is she?" Mindy asked curiously.

"Everybody, meet Shadow!

"Shadow?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah, Shadow!" Damon repeated.

"I like it!" Shadow confirmed.

* * *

**_The following week  
Saturday_**

**_Safehouse A_**

"You need to keep an eye on your surroundings, Firestorm!"

"Yes, Kick-Ass!" Firestorm moaned.

Mindy had just taken him out, from behind. Mindy could sneak up on almost anybody; she was a fucking ninja!

"Bloody hell!" Josh breathed, ripping off his mask. "This thing is hot to wear."

"You just need to get used to it," Mindy said. "As we did with ours."

"This is not going to happen overnight, Josh. We've been at this over two years and we are still refining ourselves," I said. "There's more to this shit than just killing people."

Josh nodded.

"Sorry!" Josh said, but then span as Shadow came at him from the side and he effortlessly knocked her to the floor.

Shadow scowled up at Josh, who grinned smugly; he was learning.

* * *

We were all taking a break from the streets.

Mindy now had a very small, almost invisible scar across her stomach. The wound had been superficial and Cathy had sorted it out in no time. There had not even been a requirement for stitches.

Damon was working on a solution, to improve the armour on our suits. However, so far he was limited by what he could get his hands on. He had been using our souvenir Katana as a test blade on various types of armour.

Neither Damon nor Dad wanted us to go back onto the streets until we knew more about this potential new threat.


	22. Progression

**_A little over two weeks later  
Wednesday_**

**_The House_**

"Daddy, this sucks!"

"What does?" Damon replied.

"Why can't we go out and have some _fun_?" Mindy groused.

"You know why!" Damon said, his voice sounding angry.

Mindy had been asking that question every hour for the past week and Damon was getting just a tiny bit annoyed with his daughter!

"One tiny fucking scratch and we're stuck inside!"

"Mindy it went from one side of your stomach to the other, you could have been killed!" I said quickly, sensing that Damon was about to explode. "Come on Mindy, let's go upstairs."

* * *

One outcome of Mindy's close shave with the Katana was that she had developed a fascination with the damn thing!

She was always holding it and examining every square millimetre of the weapon. There were several cuts on her fingers from touching the exquisitely sharp blade. The sword was an almost perfect example, which showed it to have come from a master craftsman, skilled in the art of Katana forging. Even the accompanying Saya was in perfect condition and of exceptional quality.

The danger with these kids of swords was that they were capable to cutting through almost anything, with the right movements and skill behind them. A sword like that which Mindy held was perfectly capable of cutting a man in half, lengthwise.

* * *

Damon had taken the ninja attack very seriously, as had Dad.

It had occurred to me that no armour would truly prevent a blade like that from slicing through it. We would need to use our skills to outwit the opponent and avoid his blade. I had suggested that Mindy and I acquire similar blades as a defence. Dad had agreed, although Mindy's blade would need to be shorter, due to her size. Damon was looking to upgrade Mindy's bō-staff with improved steel to allow her to deflect a blade such as the one we had seized.

The steel on Firestorm's Wakizashi blades should stand up to a beating, but would not last long, so Damon was looking for an upgrade there, too.

* * *

**_That night_**

I awoke in a cold sweat.

Why, I had no idea. The house was silent and very dark. I got up and went for a wander around the house. The place was somewhat creepy at night, with weird shadows in dark corners. I enjoyed the dark; I tended to feel safer at night.

It was a little after two in the morning, so I went back upstairs and decided to see if Mindy was awake. Sometimes Mindy would be unable to sleep and either sit reading a book or practice some Martial Arts movements until she fell asleep.

I nudged open her door and then things seemed to go crazy.

Mindy's bedroom was dark, but I could make out the shape of Mindy on the bed. I went over toward her, but just as I got to the bed, my bare feet felt something wet. I reached down and found that my feet _were_ wet. However, when I brought my hand back up, it was darker than before. I flicked on the light and as my eyes grew accustomed to the glare, I took a sharp intake of breath as I saw that the palm of my hand was bright red.

I then immediately turned to look at the bed.

There was blood dripping down from the bed to the floor, creating the pool that I had trodden in a minute before. I followed the blood across the duvet and to the prone form of Mindy. She was lying on her back, her emerald green eyes open and staring into nothing. I started to shake as I got closer. Her skin was very pale and I gently reached out to touch her cheek; it was cold as ice.

I pulled my hand back as if it had been burnt.

What the hell, had happened? I looked closer and saw that the blood was coming from Mindy's stomach. I eased back her top to find a large gash that went from one side of her body to the other. I hesitated and then felt rather than heard the person behind me.

I turned just in time to see a shape and then the flash of light on a shiny razor-sharp blade as it started its fall towards me...

I awoke in a cold sweat.

* * *

I was shaking.

I leapt out of bed and ran the few feet to Mindy's room, shoving the door open and flicking on the light.

"What the fuck?" Mindy growled, shielding her eyes from the glaring light.

She sat up and glared in my direction, and then she must have been able to focus on me, because she scowled.

"Dave you fucking tosser, I was having the perfect dream!"

I laughed.

"Were you winning against impossible odds?" I asked.

Mindy nodded enthusiastically.

"Lots of blood?"

Mindy's grin said it all.

"Go back to sleep!" I said flicking off the light and going back to my bed.

I had had several nightmares about what could have happened to Mindy, if the blade had been closer to her, ultimately she could have been cut in half. I had not made Mindy aware of my nightmares, as I had not wanted to scare her.

The nightmares were mine and they were mine alone.

* * *

**_Thursday morning_**

"You don't look like you slept very well, Dave," Damon asked.

"No, the fucker was waking me up at two in the goddamn morning!" Mindy moaned.

Damon smirked.

"Were you winning against impossible odds?" He asked.

"Am I that predictable?"

"Lots of blood?"

Mindy laughed.

Josh gave me a strange look, as I was _not_ laughing.

* * *

**_That afternoon_**

Damon took Mindy out shopping, leaving Josh and me at the house.

"Dave, what's wrong," Josh asked.

We both sat down in the living room.

"You have to promise me that you will not tell Mindy, Damon or Dad," I insisted.

"You have my word, Dave," Josh said.

I liked sharing things with Josh. There were plenty of things that he confided in me, which he did not want anybody else to know about, especially Mindy.

"You know all about Mindy and her 'tiny cut'!" I began.

"Yeah, I do," Josh, replied with a grin.

"I have nightmares; not unexpected considering the things that I have seen and done," I continued. "The nightmares vary. Generally, I see Mindy turning to me when she first discovered the wound and collapsing. In my nightmares, she dies in my arms. Last night I found her in her room, dead and I was struck down by the same ninja. The nightmares get ever more creative."

"Mindy really means a lot to you, doesn't she?" Josh asked.

"Yes, I've known her for six years; since she was five. I love her and I could not consider life without her. If she died..."

I realised that my cheeks were wet, I had been crying. I expected Josh to be laughing at me, but he did not; he looked very serious. I was glad that I had been able to tell somebody at last; Josh was a true friend.

It was good to have a boy to talk to, too.

* * *

**_That evening_**

Josh and I had had a good afternoon.

We had spent the time generally fucking about, with the odd serious bit of training.

"Dave, I'm hungry, when will Damon and Mindy be back?"

I looked at my watch. It was six forty-five; they should have been back hours ago! I pulled out my cell and called Mindy; it rang and rang and rang, before going to Mindy's ridiculous voicemail. I called again – same result. Damon came next, but his cell did not even ring, but just went directly to voicemail.

I was getting worried.

Next, I called Dad; he was at work. There was no answer, but that was normal. When on duty, Dad's cell was in his locker.

"Problem?" Josh asked, looking a little nervous.

"Nah – they're probably just fuckin' with us!" I replied, trying to sound upbeat but failing miserably.

..._...

By eight, I was very worried. This was not right and I had to do something. Dad would not be back until tomorrow morning.

"Josh, we need to get to the Safehouse!"

* * *

**_Safehouse A_**

I started running a trace on Mindy's cell and then Damon's cell.

There was no location for Damon; his cell was off, completely. Mindy's was a different story, though. I got a strong ping from her cell. However, the location was way off where she should have been. The signal was coming from a cemetery in Queens, not far from Riker's Island.

It was dark, and starting to cool off, although it was still over twenty-five degrees Celsius. We had to go and hunt for Mindy and Damon. It would be just me and Josh, or rather Kick-Ass and Firestorm. They could blend into the shadows easier than two young boys could.

"Firestorm! Suit up; we have work to do and not much time to do it!"

Josh jumped up immediately and ran for the armoury, a big grin on his face.


	23. Finding Mindy

**_Thursday night_**

**_Queens_**

We were out on the motorcycles.

It occurred to me that Mindy would kill Josh when she found out that he had ridden her motorcycle! I had all sorts of scenarios playing in my head. Was this something real? Was it just another of Damon's insane plans? Was Mindy in danger? Was I making a mistake doing what I was doing? Was Firestorm ready for this?

We had an unbreakable, cardinal rule; never go out alone. It was stupid and suicide. Some nights it was almost suicidal as a team! I had learnt many times that shit happened without expecting it and that you could not plan for every eventuality as fate often threw you a curve ball. Beside me, I had a complete novice; we had all been there, but was this the right time?

I had to do something, I could not just sit around and wait for them to get back; what if this was for real? Normally I had Mindy, Dad or Damon to talk things through with, but right now, I had nobody to lean on, except for Firestorm. He was eager; do not get me wrong there. He rode the Ducati like a pro and I knew that the kid could fight, but could he fight for real, when the other side were trying to kill him?

* * *

We had only covered a few miles when we found ourselves attracting some attention.

It had not been possible to take the more direct route up I-278, so we had kept to the side streets, this had meant that we had passed through several local neighbourhoods. Finally, we found our way blocked by some teenaged idiots.

"What are you two supposed to be?" One demanded with a sneer.

We found ourselves surround by about six of them.

"Move!" I growled.

"Fuck you, whatever the fuck you are!" The leader responded pulling out a pistol.

We did not have time for any shit, so I pulled out my own pistol and shot the man in the leg. He screamed and fired off a round in my direction, but missed. The crowd dispersed quickly as we both accelerated away. I saw some of the teenagers on cell phones and I assumed that they were calling the Cops or just other gang members.

"We're in shit, Firestorm!" I called.

* * *

Annoyingly, I was right!

"Fuck!" Firestorm, yelled, slamming on his brakes and slithering the large motorcycle to a halt.

The way was closed.

Firestorm burned rubber as he span the machine around and accelerated down an alley, with me only yards behind. Three motorcycles entered the alley, pursuing us; we were in trouble and my mind was racing, as I was thinking up options and alternatives. For every good idea, I had ditched three others. The chasing motorcycles were getting closer. We were running out of time as we both roared down alleys and across streets at speed. In minutes, we would attract the attention of the Cops. Then I heard gunfire and bullets zinged past us. It was not possible for me to turn and shot, so I concentrated on riding and avoiding obstacles.

"Firestorm!" I called over the comms. "Keep moving – I'm coming up with a plan!"

"Take your time!" Came the sarcastic response then, "Oh, fuck!"

"What?" I asked.

"Err, nothing!"

Ultimately, it seemed that somebody was watching over us as we crossed the next street at speed. I heard a crunch behind me and turned in time to see two motorcycles being swept away on the front of a bus! There was another crunch as the third motorcycle smashed into the far side of the same bus.

"Hamburger!" Firestorm quipped with a laugh.

* * *

That kid had a really, sick sense of humour, but I liked it.

For now, we were alone, but I had a feeling that we were not out of the proverbial woods yet! We were still a couple of miles away from our objective and I was certain that the gang we had pissed off would want revenge, now or later. For now, though, I hoped on the later!

I decided that under the circumstances, we should walk the remaining distance, leaving the motorcycles hidden. In that way, we would be able to keep to the shadows and off the roads where the gangs would be out looking for us, we could also use the rooftops in places. I examined our remaining route on my smartphone and found a good, relatively safe route that followed the rail lines.

Firestorm was not all that amused with walking a couple of miles, but I knew he could do it, no problem. Therefore, we went ahead and hid the motorcycles, before moving off at a fast jog, keeping noise to a minimum and our eyes and ears open for anything that looked to be a potential problem.

* * *

We managed a little over a hundred yards!

Firestorm went down hard as something came out of the darkness and that something was fucking huge! I dove in with my blades but was beaten back despite my blades having sunk in deep. I lost hold of one blade, which was embedded six inches into the man's side. Firestorm stood up behind the man, shaking his head; he must have been stunned. He drew his blade and sunk it into the brute's back just as I was being grabbed and the life was being rung from my neck.

The pressure on my neck, which was threatening to cut off all blood and air circulation, gradually eased and I fell to the concrete, closely followed by the massive sample of human life. Behind him, I saw Firestorm wiping off his blade and stowing it.

"I'd keep that out if I were you!" I warned.

"You sure?" Firestorm asked, looking around.

"Where there's one; there's a dozen more!" I reasoned, bringing my extensive experience as a vigilante to bear.

"Crap!"

"Crap indeed!"

We had barely a minute to settle ourselves before the fires of hell descended as men appeared. We were in alien territory and we were alone. We were in mob territory and we were most likely not walking away from the place, at all.

"Firestorm, give no quarter, as they will give none in return," I cautioned.

"You're so full of good news this evening!" Firestorm muttered in response.

I grimaced beneath my mask.

The men were hardened criminals and armed with bats, knives, chains, you name it. I charged with both knives ready and used my armour to batter away what ever came in my direction. The pain was excruciating, but I pushed through. I could here Firestorm doing the same. The noise was monumental as men shouted and screamed. At the start of the fight, there were seven men. Two fell quite quickly, but both Firestorm and I were knackered and there was a limit to our stamina. I was sweating profusely and my muscles ached. I knew that I was much fitter than Firestorm, not to mention older, stronger and more experienced.

I kept my eyes open both for the enemy and for Firestorm; he was my responsibility. If anything happened to him...

I heard him muttering to himself over the comms; at least hearing him told me that he was still alive! I put a man down with a blade to his heart and he stared at me as he slipped gently to the ground with a stunned expression. His partner was not amused and screamed at me, raising a bat, which I parried with one blade before taking him in the chest with the other, just as something hit me on my back and I went down onto one knee. I tried to stand but was hit again, for a minute I was stunned, and then I fell to the ground.

* * *

I lost sight of Kick-Ass.

The fight was unreal and I was crapping myself. I had never done anything so scary in my entire life. I was seriously glad that the suit was tight and kept my ass closed! There was noise, bodies and blood everywhere. My mind was racing as I tried to keep up with everything. I was exhausted and everything ached. The adrenalin was all that was keeping me going as I pushed forward, slashing with my blade and using my armour as a weapon. I broke a man's nose, followed by a crack with my elbow that broke his jaw; he crumpled to the ground screaming.

I now knew what Mindy meant by the rush of battle. I had never felt so alive and I relished the high that I was on as I fought. I took my anger, my fear and I used them as additional force behind my weapons. I ignored the risk, the impossibility of the fight. We were going to win at all costs. I saw some green and yellow, but it was on the ground.

Shit!

Kick-Ass had most of the attention from the remaining four men; I drew my pistols and fired into the men knowing that if any bullets hit Kick-Ass, his armour would protect him. All four men dropped with a couple of screams. I ran forward and hauled Kick-Ass to his feet. He was sprayed with blood from the men who had just been shot. He was also rubbing the right side of his chest where a bullet must have clipped him.

"Sorry!" I called.

"Crazy, but it worked, kid!" Kick-Ass replied.

"What the fuck?" A voice yelled.

We both turned to see a pair of men staring at the carnage. One man held a pistol in his right hand and aimed at us, the other man held an MP5K sub-machine gun. I raised my pistols and pulled the triggers, each pistol coughed once before the slides locked back on the empty magazines.

Crap!

I feverishly dumped magazines and fumbled for replacements, but before I could reload, I heard two pairs of shots and both men fell dead from head wounds. Kick-Ass lowered his pistol and glared at me.

"Shit, I forgot to reload!"

"I'll give you shit about that if we get out of this, alive!" Kick-Ass replied with a little anger in his voice.

I inserted full magazines and released both slides before holstering my pistols.

..._...

We walked another two miles before I saw our destination up ahead.

Talk about exhaustion! I was sure that Kick-Ass was pissed off with me, as he had not said a word to me since we had left the scene of the fight.

I knew I was in trouble, but there was absolutely, nothing, that I could do about it now.

* * *

I was very relieved to see Mindy, up ahead between some gravestones.

As I got closer, I saw Damon kneeling down at a grave with Mindy standing beside her Father. I looked down at the grave, which was lit by a torch that Damon held.

_Here lies  
Kathleen Macready  
Died 3rd December 2001  
Beloved Wife and Mother_

Then the dickhead beside me must have stood on something, causing Mindy to brace up.

"Took you fucking long enough!" Mindy growled.


	24. Kick-Ass Begins

**_That night_**

**_The House_**

We all came back from the Safehouse together after Dave and Josh had changed.

Both boys were hurt. Daddy was more than a little annoyed by what had 'transpired'; Daddy's word not mine! However, he mellowed when Dave and Josh had explained the circumstances. I had been very surprised to see both of them; however, Daddy not so much and he had expected them to arrive, despite the dangers.

Sometimes Daddy worried me with his methods. He had put both Dave and Josh at great risk, which I was annoyed about, no small amount.

I went looking for the boys, who had both vanished as soon as we had arrived back at the house.

..._...

I found them both getting into a bath, together!

"Mindy, don't even think about it!" Dave warned. "We're both fucking knackered and we ache like fuck. Cause any shit and I _will_ slap you one!"

I was actually very put out by Dave talking to me like that.

"Sorry for fucking caring, Dave!" I retorted.

"Sorry, Mindy, I didn't mean to sound harsh, but neither of us is in any mood for shit, okay," Dave said.

"Okay, no jokes about two boys in the tub!" I grinned.

Dave's sharp expression shut me up very fast. I took a moment to take in the bruises, not to mention the welt on Dave's chest where a bullet had been deflected by his armour.

"You got shot!"

"It was cunt-fuck there!" Dave growled to my surprise.

I glared at Josh.

"I was saving his life!" Josh moaned.

"He was too and it worked," Dave added.

I saw Josh looking shy about something and saw Dave shake his head and then Josh smile. I had no idea what that exchange was about.

"Dave, your back is bruised to fuck!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know!" Dave replied and I could see tears in his eyes. Dave could not bullshit me; I knew when he was hurting. I was unable to hide anything from him, either.

"I'm really sorry you both got hurt and I mean that, I really do," I said, without any bullshit. I really meant it, too.

"Thanks, Mindy," Josh said and I could tell he was hurting, too.

I left the boys to their bath and went down to see Daddy.

..._...

I sat on the couch, with Sophia beside me and glared at Daddy.

"Spit it out, Mindy!"

"You went too far, Daddy!"

"Possibly, but they're okay..."

"_Okay_!" I shouted. "Dave is bruised to fuck and Joshua is doing his damndest not to cry in front of me! They could have fucking died!"

"Mindy!"

"No, Daddy, you went too far and I am extremely mad at you!"

"Okay!"

I stormed out of the room and then upstairs, followed by Sophia.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Friday_**

**_Safehouse A_**

"Help!"

What the fuck?

"Help me; she's going to kill me!"

The door burst open and Joshua came through the door into the Safehouse. Seconds later Mindy charged after Joshua and I seized her around the waist, halting her rampage.

"Let me go, Dave!" Mindy snarled.

I laughed but refused to let her go.

"I – will – kill – you, Dave!"

"Yeah, right, short-ass!" I laughed again then looked at Joshua who was cowering over the other side of the room. Damon came in with a smile on his face, which changed to a smirk when he saw me holding the struggling Mindy.

"Mindy!" Damon growled. Mindy froze and scowled at her father. "Daddy!"

Then Mindy looked up at me and smiled sweetly.

"Please put me down, Dave."

I looked at Damon who nodded, so I let my pal down to the floor.

"Thank you, Dave," Mindy began sweetly before raising her voice and glaring at Joshua. "That goddamned, cock-socking, tea-loving, sarcastic, incompetent, limey little bastard dented my fucking motorcycle!"

Once Mindy had finished, I smiled.

"Got that all out of your system?" I asked.

"No, I fucking have not!" Mindy retorted, flicking open her Balisong in a swift fluid movement. "I'm going to castrate the slimy little fucker and then I'm going to..."

"Mindy!" Damon said loudly, cutting off his daughter. "It's a fucking scratch for fuck's sake; you've had bigger cuts on your fucking ass!"

"That is _not_ the point!" Mindy steamed. "That fucker had no fucking right placing his fucking British _arse_ on _my_ motorcycle!"

* * *

**_One week later  
Saturday morning_**

We were out on a junior track day, Mindy, Josh, Chloe and myself.

Damon had rented four reasonably powerful motorcycles, which suited our ages, so we could have some fun on the track. We were steadily clocking up better and better times as we improved our performance and rode the motorcycles faster and faster. Mindy was very annoyed by the fact that both Joshua and I were constantly getting faster times than she was. Chloe was at the bottom, though, as she was the youngest and had the smallest motorcycle.

For now, Mindy had allowed Josh to live and was enjoying herself far too much to worry about trying to kill him. By lunchtime, Mind had managed to fuck up her motorcycle, no surprise there! Therefore, she and Joshua were in the pits trying to get it fixed. Damon was in the stands watching, along with Dr Bennett.

It was my sixth timed lap of the day and I was ready to set a new personal record. Chloe was in the same group, although I knew she had no hope of keeping up with me, but she was fearless and gave it all she had.

* * *

Dave was ahead of me on the starting grid; I was at the back!

I was going to push it, on the laps. I knew I would not beat Dave, but I could at least get closer to him and beat some of the other dickheads.

I was on the third turn, a hard right and suddenly something caught my eye as I accelerated out of the turn and twisted the throttle. Dave's motorcycle had started to wobble; it started imperceptibly and then increased.

My mind told Dave to stop and I saw his brake light flicker just once then...

* * *

My world suddenly started to spin.

It was just, as you saw in the movies; everything moved in slow motion and there was silence. I felt or seemed to observe my body crashing into the blacktop and I saw the motorcycle I had been riding spinning away past me. I seemed to bounce and then roll several times. My vision alternated between sky, blacktop, sky, blacktop...

The visor on my helmet cracked and then I seemed to come to a halt and I saw somebody running towards me; it looked to be Chloe and she was holding her arm, but then everything went black and I neither saw nor heard anything else.

* * *

I could not stop crying.

My Dave was... I had no idea if he was going to survive. The doctor had mentioned a long list of injuries. Jaw, collarbone, upper left and lower right arms, left and right legs, right ankle, ribs and pelvic fractures. The doctor suggested that there might be more; that was just what they had found during the first forty minutes of investigations.

He was breathing, but only with a lot of help. I was shaking at the thought of what might happen... Mr Lizewski was beside himself and I could see him with Chloe's mother. Daddy was pacing backwards and forwards while Chloe was holding my hand and doing her best, but she was upset and she had been injured in the crash, too. Josh was doing his best to help where he could and tried to help both Chloe and me.

Without Dave, my life would be over. He _was_ my life; I loved him and there was no way that I could continue as Hit Girl without Kick-Ass.

No way!

* * *

**_Three weeks later  
Friday evening_**

It was my turn to sit vigil, as we all had every day since Dave had been injured.

He was back in one piece and being only thirteen, the doctors were happy with his ability to heal fully although healing would take many more weeks, maybe even months. Dave had not regained consciousness in the three weeks and that had worried me the most; I had never gone this long without Dave. I cried every night and each day was worse than the previous one. I knew Dave would pull through so I had Chloe and Joshua training like their lives depended on it, which actually they did. We would be ready for Dave, when he was ready to come back to lead us, as Kick-Ass.

I was reading the latest 'Guns &amp; Ammo' magazine. There was a particularly good article on the Heckler and Koch MP7 personal defence weapon and I was engrossed in that while I sat in the chair beside Dave's bed. I often received strange looks from nurses when they saw what I was reading!

Suddenly I bolted upright and dropped the magazine as I heard a croaky voice.

"Mindy!"

I looked towards the bed and instantly burst into tears. Dave was looking back at me and trying to smile.

"Dave! Oh, fuck!"

I leapt up and hugged my best pal. My tears spilled down Dave's face, but I was glad that he was alive. I looked up as I heard the door open; it was Daddy coming to relieve me.

"He's awake!" I said, sobbing even more; I had never been so happy.

Daddy bolted out of the door and seconds later nurses and a doctor rushed in. I could see Daddy on his cell; he would be calling Dave's Dad. I could see Daddy smiling as he spoke.

My Dave was back.

* * *

**_Five days later  
Wednesday_**

Dave was now allowed visitors, so Marty and Erika had visited several times.

Dr Bennett was keeping a close eye on Dave's prognosis. I was there every day, despite Daddy warning me that I needed rest. He had not been amused by my response, either! Now Dave could speak properly, had had asked about the accident, but Daddy wanted to leave that until Dave was out of hospital. Dave also asked about Chloe as he remembered her holding her arm after the crash.

Chloe had come off her motorcycle as she had tried to avoid Dave's spinning body and the wreckage of his motorcycle. Luckily, her leathers and helmet had protected her and she had only sprained her left wrist and received some hefty bruises, all of which had mostly healed.

During tests, the doctors had discovered that Dave had received major nerve damage in certain parts of his body. I thought Dave would be upset by that revelation, but no; he thought it a tactical advantage! Then when I thought about it and realised that Dave would be able to absorb immense punishment without feeling much pain – lucky cunt!

The doctors had explained about the various metal plates and other accoutrements that now made up a fair proportion of his skeleton. I spent more than a few minutes examining Dave's full body x-ray and could only come to one conclusion.

"Fuck me; you're fucking Wolverine!"


	25. Fusion Assembles

**_Three months later  
Friday_**

**_The House_**

It was just three days until a certain vigilante turned eleven.

There were other problems, too! It was Joshua, who had pointed it, or rather them, out first. It was breakfast and Josh suddenly bolted upright and stared at Mindy.

"What?" Mindy asked.

"Mindy's got tits!" Josh said cheerfully.

I would not have called them 'tits', exactly, but there were bumps where none had been before; only none of us had noticed. Mindy blushed the reddest that any of us had ever seen and she glared at Josh, mouthing obscenities. That was when Damon walked in and looked at his daughter.

"Problem?" He asked.

I tried to stop Josh, but he dived in with both feet as usual.

"Mindy's got tits!"

Mindy was now a long way past mortified! She hid her face in her hands and groaned. Damon smirked at his daughter before adding his own comment.

"Careful Mindy, you might set off the fire detector!"

* * *

**_Later that morning_**

"Hey! Can't a girl have some privacy?"

"You couldn't stay out of the bathroom once _you_ found out _I'd_ hit puberty!" Dave commented.

"I was curious!" Mindy retorted.

"Well, so are we."

Mindy had no come back for that one, so she went back to her shower, ignoring Dave and me. There really was not much to see, so we quickly got bored and left Mindy in peace. Dave was now almost fully healed, but he had been warned to not over stress himself, or do anything energetic – like run around killing people!

Mindy, Chloe and I were in top physical fitness, but Dave still had a ways to go and Mindy kept winding him up. For some reason Dave did not just slap Mindy; I had no idea why, except that those two had an immense bond between them that seemed unbreakable.

..._...

Marty and Erika had been over a few times each week to see Dave. They were actually amazed at how quickly he was healing. Marty also enjoyed testing out Dave's new 'superpower', as he called it; Marty enjoyed 'attacking' Dave to see how he reacted to the pain.

"Did you feel that?"

"No."

"How about that?"

"No. Will you quit punching me?"

"You're like Jason fucking Bourne or something!" Erika commented.

"I prefer Wolverine!" Mindy added with a broad grin.

"How about that?" Marty persisted.

"No, Marty, give it a fucking rest!"

"Sorry, I know, it's totally childish..."

Marty then whacked Dave across the upper back with an aluminium tray that Mindy had passed him.

"Enough!" Mr Lizewski called out with a smirk.

Unknown to Dave, Mindy spent a lot of time examining his x-rays, which she thought were 'fucking awesome'!

* * *

I was glad to be out of the hospital, but at times, I wished I were back there.

I know my pain threshold had moved, but having it tested every two minutes was getting a little old to be honest. I knew that everybody cared about me, which was why they were there, but I also started to get annoyed with everybody constantly asking how I was.

There were also some other changes too!

..._...

Erika had turned up one morning and pushed me into a room before closing the door behind her. I liked Erika; I always had. She was two months younger than I was and she had a _very_ nice body to go with her lovely outlook on life.

"What's up, Erika?"

"I know, Dave!"

"Know what?"

"That you're a little more than just Jason fucking Bourne, or Wolverine, for that matter!"

I had a feeling where the conversation was going...

"Dave – are you one of those nutcase vigilantes?" Erika asked.

Decision time. What should I say? It was obvious that she knew something. I could lie, but I had known Erika for years and she usually knew when I was lying.

"What if I were?"

Erika grinned from ear to ear.

"That would be so cool!" Erika exclaimed then calmed down almost immediately. "I want to be one..."

That had been unexpected!

"Okay, Erika, but you say one word out of place to anybody and you would not be the first, if you get my drift..."

Erika went pale for a moment before regaining her composure.

"I tell, you kill me – that sounds about right, Kick-Ass!"

I smirked.

"It is not an easy life – strange when you think about it; my worst injuries were from a damn motorcycle crash!"

"I'm not stupid, Dave, I know it won't be easy. I want to join your team – if you and they will have me."

"I'll talk to them and let you know – but for now, keep silent."

"By the way – I think Marty knows, too," Erika said as she opened the door.

* * *

**_Three days later  
Monday_**

I was eleven!

Did I feel different?

Not really.

I had boobs – kind of, which was something, I supposed.

Dave had woken me up violently – which was normal for a birthday; I did the same for him! I only woke up properly when I saw the presents on the table and Daddy smiling happily. Dave pushed forward a long thin present.

I started pulling off the purple wrapping paper carefully, but then the excitement and suspense got too much and I just ripped it off! It was a long wooden box, about three foot long. My hands trembled as I flipped open the brass catches and eased open the highly polished lid. I glanced up at Dave and Daddy who both grinned in eager anticipation.

"Fingers in your ears everybody!" Dave said seriously.

* * *

Josh was not fast enough as Mindy opened the lid and screamed!

Even with my fingers in my ears, the scream hurt.

Inside the box was the two halves of Mindy's new bō-staff. It was made of a carbon fibre composite and the blades were as sharp as it was possible to get. They were also of a similar design to that used in Katana swords. The blades were immensely strong and had been selected after careful testing with the captured Katana.

"Careful Mindy!" I warned as she picked up the first half and slid the protective covering off the blade. "This one will do more than slit your belly open."

The blade was highly polished and the point would cut through a body like a hot knife through butter. Mindy picked up the other half and joined them together in a fluid motion. We all stood well clear as she expertly twirled the lethal instrument of death through the air.

Mindy had a new best friend!

* * *

**_Three weeks later  
Saturday_**

**_Downtown New York_**

The team assembled.

It was the last Saturday before Christmas. Kick-Ass and I were riding, side by side on our Ducati motorcycles. Behind us, rode Firestorm on his own Ducati Hypermotard motorcycle that was identical to ours, except for the orange frame. The licence plate read '**BURN**'. With Kick-Ass rode Shadow. Covering us from a distance was Big Daddy on his own motorcycle. Commando was cruising the rooftops with a sniper rifle.

There was snow on the ground and the motorcycles were fitted with studded snow tyres. This was to be the first outing for Kick-Ass since his accident and the first for Shadow. We anticipated plenty of criminal activity that close to Christmas. We were also on the lookout for our good friend Frank D'Amico.

We kept to the shadows as far as possible, using alleyways. I wanted to go say hello to somebody before we got into any action. I found my target quickly and pulled up alongside a marked NYPD cruiser that had one person inside. Kick-Ass, Firestorm and Shadow kept back, out of sight. I cut the engine and knocked on the window.

The window came down and I smiled at the man in the driver's seat.

"Merry Christmas, Marcus!"

"Christ Mi – err, Hit Girl!"

"Just wanted you to know that I'm still safe..."

"Thank you. Now you better get out of here before I have to arrest your purple butt!" Marcus laughed.

I started my engine and Kick-Ass pulled up beside me and waved to Marcus. Shadow and Firestorm did the same.

"For fuck's sake!" Marcus called out as Big Daddy pulled up. "You starting some fucked up superhero club, now?"

"Don't know what you are talking about!" Big Daddy said before accelerating away.

..._...

We also decided to have some fun!

Kick-Ass and I cruised past the D'Amico building and dropped a pair of flashbangs before moving away fast. We heard the bangs and saw the flash. When we turned to look back, we saw the men outside writhing on the floor!

"Fucking cool!" Hit Girl laughed.

A mile down the road we stopped in an alley; I had seen something, a flash of red.

"Good evening, my fellow vigilantes!" Red Mist called out as we dismounted from our motorcycle.

"Hello, Misty!" I growled.

"Hey! It's 'Red Mist' Hit Girl and don't you forget it!"

"We won't!" Kick-Ass laughed.

"What you guys up to, tonight?" Red Mist asked.

"We're on patrol to make sure nobody causes any trouble; it is almost Christmas," I explained.

"Very noble of you."

"If you've got nothing else, we have work to do..." I continued, walking back to my motorcycle.

"Merry Christmas!" Red Mist called and then vanished.

"Dick!"

* * *

We had all hoped for a quite night – all except for Hit Girl; she was keen for some action – and she was going to get it, too!

We had all stopped close to Central Park West, when we started to here screaming – first a single scream, then another, and another. It was coming from Central Park. Big Daddy headed south, Commando found a perch and scouted out the area. The four of us moved in on the three motorcycles. Hit Girl hid her machine and with Shadow headed out on foot. Firestorm and I headed towards The Ramble. Then the air was rent with gunshots – I recognised them as nine-millimetre; Cop calibre.

"Cops in trouble!" I called over the comms and accelerated.

We came to a junction and I saw a man struggling with another – one was a uniformed Cop, the other – I had no fucking idea!

I stopped, jumped off my motorcycle and lunged for the attacker, driving my armoured fist into the man's side. He yelled out and fell to one side. Firestorm grabbed the Cop and dragged him backwards to safety. I drew my batons and took up a fighting stance. The attacker turned towards me. He was large and wore a mask; he was dressed in a black jumpsuit and reminded me of a fucking ninja! I could see no weapons in evidence, but the man seemed not to be bothered about that fact.

He attacked.

I stopped his fist, but almost missed his right leg as it kicked out. He was good! I stuck in using my batons and feet, but the man seemed to absorb my attacks without injury.

'Fuck this!' I thought.

Then the man hesitated and fell forwards; there was an arrow dead centre in his back. Behind him, smiling fit to burst was Shadow, a compound bow held out in front of her, a fresh arrow notched and ready. Hit Girl was smirking as she stood behind her. I turned to the Cop.

"Thank you!" He said.

"Are you hurt?" I asked.

"Nothing to worry about – the bastard just attacked me for no reason; I got off several shots but I missed!" The Cop explained, and then he looked closely at us. "I should be arresting you guys, but..."

"Here's your gun, Officer!" Firestorm said, handing over the Officer's Glock 17, butt first.

The Officer looked a little shocked, but swapped out the magazine for a full one and holstered his weapon.

"I owe you guys – here's my card – stay safe; I think we need you tonight. God knows what is going on in this place."

The Cop got to his feet and with a wave was gone.

"Let's move!" I ordered. "Well done, Shadow."

* * *

That was fucking awesome!

Had I just killed a man? The adrenalin surge was there, just as Hit Girl had said it would be. I went over and with help from Kick-Ass retrieved the shaft of my arrow; the head was deep in the man's backbone. The boys rode off on their motorcycles while Hit Girl and I continued through the trees and bushes, looking for trouble, which did not take much to find.

The screaming was everywhere and we found the first dead innocent; a woman with her neck broken. What the hell, was going on; it was Christmas – why was somebody determined to ruin it for everybody?

I kept my bow raised and ready. Hit Girl had her new bō-staff with her and it was ready for instant use. I knew that she desperately wanted to christen the blades with some criminal blood.

I had a feeling that she was not going to be disappointed.


	26. Christmas Massacre

**_Saturday Night_**

**_Central Park_**

The screaming was getting louder and we had come across yet another dead body.

There was a single knife wound to the throat. As we moved through the trees and bushes, I heard scuffling a short distance away. Hit Girl had heard it too and we both increased our pace. Then we were blind-sided – it was a trap.

All around us were masked men and at least one woman, which was a surprise. They were all dressed in black and armed with everything from a baseball bat, to a shotgun. I released my already notched arrow and went to draw another, but I was knocked down by a man's fist, which hurt.

Hit Girl had launched into the attack, with her bō-staff.

* * *

It was two against twelve, which was _not_ the best odds, but it could have been worse!

Shadow seemed to be holding her own with her bō-staff, having slung the compound bow. The attackers were good and they were wearing body armour, which they used to deflect our bō-staff blades. There was only one option, I struck hard and fast, drawing one man away from his colleagues. Once I had sufficient space, I span around with my bō-staff horizontal. The man attempted to duck, but I corrected and for a moment, I thought that I had missed.

The man's head seemed to wobble and then it fell from his neck and fell to the ground. Blood spewed forth from the severed neck as the rest of his body toppled over and crashed to the ground. My feat was met with anger by the other fighters.

That both felt and looked awesome and the adrenalin was pumping in every part of my body. I noticed Shadow give me an approving nod as I moved onto the dead man's associates.

* * *

I was fighting for my life.

Kick-Ass was busy with two men, but coping well. I, however, was not. The man had me pinned on the ground and he was forcing a blade vertically downwards. I had no idea if my combat suit would protect me, but I decided that I did not want to find out!

Then I heard a sharp _crack_ and the man's head dissolved into nothing, blood splattering my mask.

"You're welcome, Firestorm!" Big Daddy growled over the comms.

"Thanks err, Big Daddy!"

I scrambled up and ran over to help Kick-Ass just as two more men burst out from some bushes. I pulled out my pistol and shot one in the thigh but missed the other one as he sent bullets in my direction from a large calibre pistol.

I fired both of my Glock 26 pistols together sending bullets towards the two men, both of whom were firing back at me. Kick-Ass was occupied with his fight, so I had to protect his back. Then I saw a shadow appear behind one man. The shadow almost ripped the man's head off his neck as it was snapped to the right. The dead man died instantly, closely followed by his surprised colleague.

"You okay, Firestorm?" Commando demanded.

"Yes!" I replied as Commando vanished into the darkness.

I ran over to Kick-Ass, just as the last man fell to the ground.

"Let's go find the girls!" Kick-Ass announced and we ran off in the direction of the sounds of fighting.

* * *

As I surveyed the park, I could see people running in all directions.

From my perch, it was difficult to see who was who, but I could identify my daughter and Shadow fighting back to back. Due to their proximity to the bad guys, it was impossible for me to provide support, so I just covered their backs in case anybody approached them.

I was not overly worried, but I was still concerned.

* * *

I whirled as fast as I could, keeping on the move to avoid being a target.

Men fell around me, blood flying, as I struck thighs and necks, anywhere the body armour was not. Shadow kept close, but not too close in case I might stab her. I was tiring and I knew that Shadow had to be tiring too. I dug down deep for more energy; stabbing another man and struggling to pull my bō-staff back out again.

I had lost count of how many I had put down, but there always seemed to be just one more.

* * *

I found myself face to face with Hit Girl; all the men seemed to be dead.

Blood dripping from our blades, which kinda looked awesome. Damn, I was actually enjoying myself! Then we detected movement and we lunged into the attack.

"Stand down!" A voice yelled out before we were able to strike – and just in time, too.

It was Kick-Ass and I recognised Firestorm beside him. Both had pistols out and aimed in our direction.

"Do you hear that?" Hit Girl asked.

I listened.

"No screaming – well a lot less than before..."

"I think it's over," Kick-Ass agreed.

"I concur," Big Daddy commented.

"Get back to the transport – we're outta here!" Commando ordered.

* * *

**_Two hours later_**

**_The House_**

We were all knackered and filthy.

"Get yourselves cleaned up and then bed – all of you," Daddy ordered.

"Us girls will go get a bath first, then you two, okay?" I suggested, looking at the boys.

"You got it, Mindy," Dave replied, obviously too tired to argue.

To speed things up I shared a bath with Chloe and we must have almost dozed off after washing ourselves as the next thing I knew, Dave was shaking my shoulder. I jerked awake, waking Chloe as I stood up to get out.

"Come on Chloe, bed."

I barely registered that I was naked; I just grabbed a towel and threw one at an equally naked and tired Chloe. We headed off to my room and we both fell asleep almost the moment that we lay down on the bed.

* * *

It had been a dangerous night, but we had prevailed and kept the death toll down.

Marcus had reported six dead civilians, which was six too many in my book. I looked in on the kids before I went to bed. The boys were fast asleep; Josh was snoring as usual. I laughed as I peered in on the two girls. Both were fast asleep but they had not had the energy to pull up the duvet, so I covered them up.

They had all done very well. We would also need to look at Chloe to see how she reacted to her first kill. James was already asleep on the couch downstairs.

What would Christmas 2012 give us – more of the same shit?

God, I hoped not...

* * *

**_The following morning_**

**_Sunday_**

Nobody stirred until almost one in the afternoon.

I opened my eye and groaned.

"Do we never get a moment's privacy in this place?" I moaned, nudging Mindy awake.

"Huh..." Mindy groaned tiredly opening her eyes.

Mindy gazed up at the end of the bed where a grinning Joshua stood, leering down at the bed, and then she looked down at the bed itself were Mindy noticed that they were both very much exposed as the duvet had slid down the bed during the night.

"You get used to it, Chloe!" Mindy explained, ignoring the fact that she was naked and she curled up into a ball and tried to go back to sleep.

"Come on, Mindy – up!" Dave shouted as he came into the bedroom and then laughed. "You checking out naked girls again, Josh?"

"Why not?" Josh laughed. "They don't seem to mind!"

"Well, _I_ do!" Chloe exclaimed, jumping out of bed and wrapping a towel around her body. "I may only be ten, but I have no desire to be Josh's peep show!"

"Okay, I can take a hint – I won't look anymore..." Josh said with a grin. "But in return you are going to have to stop sleeping naked."

"Funny, very funny!"

"Hey, assholes!" Mindy growled dangerously. "I'm trying to sleep here. Fuck off or I will tear you all _new_ assholes!"

"The naked lady has spoken – we'd better move!" Dave laughed. "Mindy, your Dad wants you downstairs..."

* * *

"How's my adolescent monster?" Damon queried.

"She's fine Daddy!" A grinning Mindy replied giving her Daddy a kiss.

"She's grumpy, is what she is!" I complained.

"That's girls for you, son," Dad laughed.

"I have to agree with you there, James!" Damon grinned.

Mindy was glaring at both of the adults, but they ignored her.

"How are you, this morning, Chloe?" Dad asked looking at Chloe's expression.

"I don't know. How should I be feeling? I killed a man last night..."

"In defence of a Cop," Mindy reminded her.

"Still..."

"You think you should be feeling something, like remorse, or shit like that?" Mindy went on.

"Yeah..."

Mindy grimaced and looked at me. I nodded back. Chloe was having difficulty coming to terms with what she had done. There was nothing wrong with that. We had all killed for the first time and as for Mindy and I, we were mass murders!

"After breakfast, we'll sit down and talk about it, okay?" Dad suggested.

"Thanks, Mr Lizewski."


End file.
